Sailor X: The Senshi of America
by SailorXStar
Summary: They thought that escaping to another planet would let them live peaceful lives. But when the threat follows them to Earth, they'll have to fight to protect the planet they now call home and defend the honor of the one their enemies destroyed.
1. Prologue

Ok, here it is! My first revised upload! I hope that you enjoy my story this time around and that you find the quality more superior to way back when. Thank you for reading and please review. Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** Out of everything in this story, I only own characters you don't recognize and the plotline, which are of my own creation. Anything else is not mine and I make no claim on any of it. I do not intend to steal anything and if you have a problem with something that I wrote please let me know. Thank you.

* * *

**Prologue**

Finally, after the seemingly endless journey, they had reached the shining blue planet. Weary but still determined, a magenta-furred cat entered an old arcade, what looked like a charm bracelet jingled on her tail. Five small orbs dangled from the chain.

Jumping up onto a stool of a foreign game in the corner that was labeled 'Out of Order', the feline pressed the buttons in a specific order. She watched her reflection for a moment, indigo eyes wide open, the golden star on her forehead glinting in the dim light. Suddenly the screen came to life with the snow of static. "My cousin, I am here," she spoke.

"It's good to hear from you, Astra," another voice said. A second later, another cat appeared on the screen. She looked like an inverse of the first, with dark indigo fur and deep red eyes. A gold crescent moon adorned her forehead. "I'm glad you made it safely to Earth. I wish I could be there with you now. I know you've gone through a lot. It reminds me of the moon."

"I remember well, Luna, the devastation. But in a way I am glad that I was with you on the day the Moon Kingdom was destroyed. For if not we would have been separated by a fissure of time and never have seen each other again," Astra replied. "I am quite worried about a repeat, though. If _they _find out where we are hiding, this planet could be in danger."

"It wouldn't be the first time," sighed Luna. "You will just have to follow in my pawsteps and reawaken them. However, for the time being I suggest that you give them the opportunity to live normal lives. Do not stray too far from the princess, of course. She will be the first one you must awaken in case of a crisis."

"I understand," Astra said. With a flick of her tail, the five orbs detached and floated in the air, growing larger until it could be seen that a twelve-year-old child was curled in each one. She looked at the group sadly, knowing that in a few moments, they would remember nothing of their close bonds to each other. But it was to their benefit, for they would also lose memories of the destruction of their home planet. "I just wish it didn't have to be this way."

"They're safer here than anywhere else. We're on the farthest planet from Xena that can support life. They will be fine," Luna comforted her cousin. She looked behind Astra at the five orbs. "You must wipe their memories now, before then awaken. I will look for eligible families."

Astra hopped off of the stool and walked over to the children. She sat in front of them and let a shining beam come forth from the star on her head, erasing all of their memories. When they were in their new homes she would use her powers to create fake memories and for them and their families.

Within a few hours, Luna had directed Astra to five new places where the children would live from then on. Two were connected as cousins, the other three lived in the same apartment building. The princess was put in the care of a special family descended from another powerful soldier. When they were settled, the cat felt tears prickle at her eyes.

"Goodbye children," Astra whispered. "Good luck."


	2. Chapter 1

It's strange to look back on my writing as I'm going through this. I used different terminology and less variation in language and a lot of puns. XD But I'm seriously enjoying myself with this because I love this story and I know that if I keep fixing it up like I am now, it'll be one of the best ones I've ever written. So far it's going well. Anyway, enjoy the newly revised first chapter and please review to let me know what you think. Love ya!

~SXS

P.S. I was thinking of coming up with a tagline. What do you think of '_In the name of their past, they protect their future_'?

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

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**Chapter 1: The Average Life of an Ex-Princess  
**

"Good morning. The time is now 6:00 AM. Please wake up. I'll return in ten minutes to rouse you again," the British accented voice spoke smoothly next to her ear. She could picture the handsome butler, with his dark brunette locks falling gently into his amber eyes.

She smiled in her half-sleep as the clock on her night stand started again. "Good morning. The time is now 6:00 AM. Please wake up. I'll return in ten minutes to rouse you again." Opening one royal purple eye, she lifted her hand and hit the doze button before standing and stretching.

Now that she thought about it, her image of the non-existent butler looked a lot like…but of course, he was her dream guy after all.

Much as she was not a morning person, she had no choice but to get herself up early in the morning because her mother was hopeless when it came to time. She passed the door to said parent's room and sighed shaking her head upon seeing her sprawled across the bed snoring.

She had to give her a little bit of slack this morning. It was Monday and Monday's are the worst.

She continued to the bathroom and undressing, stepped into the shower. As she bathed, she sang a little, relishing in the acoustics and how they projected her voice like a microphone. When she was finished she went to the mirror and combed the knots out of her long auburn hair. Then she put it into the long-practiced style that she had come to adore: two buns on her head like a cat's ears, two long pigtails that curled upward slightly at the ends, long straight bangs that only barely ended above her eyes.

Back in her room she ironed her outfit for the day and dressed, putting some make-up on before headed to the kitchen for breakfast. One bowl of cereal and milk later, she was ready to go. The clock on the stove read 6:45.

Her mornings were always like this and followed to days that were always the same. Wake up and get ready alone, go to school, come home and do homework, maybe hang out with Lisa a bit, then go to bed and start the process all over again. Sometimes she wished for a little more spice in her life; something unexpected and new to end the mundane routine she was trapped in. Sadly her desire had yet to be granted.

"Bye Mom!" she called as she left the apartment and walked to the elevator. On the next floor down the elevator doors opened to reveal a girl with brown, shoulder-length hair that was streaked a different color in the front, framing her face in bleach-blond. She rubbed her emerald eyes sleepily with a yawn and smiled.

"Morning Kate," she said.

"Hey Lisa," Kate replied. Lisa Soleno had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. She was a bit hyper-active, but had a sweet heart and put passion into everything she did. Kate smiled as she tried to recall exactly how they had met. They had lived in the same building practically all their lives and according to their parents, they were inseparable since the first time they saw each other at two years old. But every time that Kate tried to remember times they had spent together, she had trouble up until she was about twelve. Usually, she chalked it up to just having a bad memory but it always bothered her a little.

The only memories she could sometimes conjure were very faint and she wasn't sure what they were about. But she never mentioned these to anyone.

One more floor brought the doors open again and a new girl stepped inside. "Oh great. You freaks." Kate and Lisa shifted to the wall of the elevator and sneered at her. Likewise, the new girl leaned back against the opposite wall, glaring at the other two with her ice blue eyes, before examining her white-blond hair in a pocket mirror. Kate always wondered how she got it to stay it its peculiar style: two ponytails sprouting out of one at the top of her head and trailing down to her shoulders.

When they reached the lobby floor, the snooty girl strutted out before Kate or Lisa could move and disappeared out of the doors of the Webster Apartment building. Lisa was steaming, as she usually did after an encounter with the girl. "Let it go, Lisa. Bebe isn't worth your energy."

Bebe Novántoni was the stereotypical popular girl who was feared and/or hated by everyone. She didn't even need a posse of followers to assert her status. Not only that, but her grades were top notch, which put her in a good light with the teachers. Lisa hated her because she was almost her polar opposite. Kate hated her because she felt she was immature.

"She drives me insane! She thinks she's so great but really she's just a no-good, rotten, bi-"

"Lisa! The bus!"

They were now outside on the sidewalk outside their building. Looking toward the bus stop to their left, they saw that the bus was just about to close its doors. Kate took in a big breath of New York City air and yelled, "HOLD THE BUS!" To signal that he had heard, the driver beeped once.

"Come on, let's hurry." The two girls ran and hopped onto the bus, dropping their fare into the box and looking for an open seat.

"Kate! Lisa!" A hand waved and beckoned and they gladly made their way over the seat at the back. They sat on either side of a boy with dark brunette locks falling gently into his amber eyes. He smiled warmly and Kate felt her heart jump in her chest.

"What's up, Shel?" Lisa greeted their friend.

"Nothing really. Just trying to finish some Gatsby before we get to school," he said in his smooth voice, gesturing to the book in his hand. Sheldon Argentum was the third member of their trio who had also been friends with Lisa and Kate since they were very young. He was intelligent, level-headed, determined, and sometimes a bit sarcastic. But when it came to his friends, he was generally very caring. All those things were what Kate loved about him ever since she had realized that cooties didn't exist at around twelve years old.

"I assume you're almost at the end of the book?" Lisa asked as she sat back and crossed her legs.

"Hey, I enjoy books. And being ahead of the class means no extra homework later." Kate watched Sheldon as he continued to read with the book close to his face. She noticed the way he knit his delicate eyebrows together in concentration and found it utterly cute. After a moment, Sheldon looked up and said, "What? Do I have something on me?"

"Ah, n-no, nothing. Just spacing out…" She turned her attention to the window to avoid Sheldon seeing her blush.

The bus stopped outside of Norman Thomas High, conveniently located right next door to a Starbucks. Everyone piled off and jammed into the coffee shop, desperate for a caffeine fix, while Sheldon, Lisa, and Kate made their way slowly toward another tedious day of sophomore year.

The three went their separate ways to go to their lockers before the first bell. On the way, Kate had the misfortune to run into Bebe. "Move, will you? I'm trying to get to my locker." The blond bumped Kate with her hip, causing her to fall to the floor. Grunting in annoyance, she brushed herself off and continued to her own locker.

_Good thing Lisa wasn't here…_ Kate thought. _If she had been, that could have gotten ugly._

A few minutes later found Kate in her homeroom, sitting at the front of the class in the seat closest to the door. She couldn't stand her homeroom teacher and was always thankful that she didn't actually have a class with him. She purposely placed herself in that seat at the beginning of the year so that she could get out quickly after the announcements.

There was a bell sound and the intercom sounded across the school. "Good morning, students! Welcome to another glorious day in the halls of NTHS," the principal spoke cheerfully. "Today's lunch is...mystery meat! Oh, goody! And on the side will be brussels sprouts and a carton of prune juice. What a healthy way to reboot yourselves for the rest of the day."

At the description of the lunch menu, most of the kids groaned and fake gagged.

The principal continued. "The annual school talent show is coming up soon." Kate smiled. She had been waiting for the talent show all year. _This year's gonna be the one!_ she thought. _Bebe's going down!_ "Auditions will be held next month on the stage. For details, please see Mrs. Theatrum for details."

Bebe snorted loudly. "Why would anyone bother auditioning when they know that I'm going to win?" She ran her fingers through her bangs. "Anyone who even thinks about it must be out of their mind."

"You're not the only one with talent," Kate whispered. "Just wait until I get on that stage."

"And that is all for this morning. Remember, it's easier to pay attention than it is to pay for time in detention." The intercom clicked and everyone sprang from their seats to move to first period.

Kate picked up her books and headed over to English, the only class she had with Sheldon and Lisa. She was the first into the room and Mr. Lingua looked up from where he was typing away at his keyboard. "Good morning, Miss Astrum. I'm glad you're here before the rest. I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind reading that poem your wrote the other day out loud for the class. It was so powerfully emotional and I feel like it would benefit the rest of the students to experience such a work of art."

"Oh…thank you but…well, it wasn't _that_ great…" Kate tried to play off her reluctance to read the poem as modesty. In reality, she knew that the poem in question was one that she had written about Sheldon and if she read it in front of the class, he might realize her feelings. After all, there weren't any boys in the school with '_Amber eyes like liquid gold_' besides him.

"No, I insist that you do," Mr. Lingua pushed. "You'll be an inspiration! I want to start with you right away so put your things down and stand up here. Here is your paper back." The teacher handed Kate her poem and went back to his work. She remained at the front of the class as the rest of the kids piled in. Sheldon passed her with a 'What are you doing?' look and Kate just smiled nervously.

"Good morning class." The pupils sat down in their seats, Sheldon sitting next to the desk where Kate left her things. "I read the poems you handed in on Friday over the weekend and many of them were not up to par. But there was one that stood out to me and I wanted to share that with you by having the author herself read it to you. Kate, if you will?"

_How can I stall?_ Kate thought. She coughed a little, shuffled her feet, and scanned the class from one end to another but knew that eventually she was going to have to read. If only she could hold out for a little longer, just enough to think of another person she might have been writing about...

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So if you remember, Kate used to be late every morning, but I decided that since I'm revamping the writing, I can change up the characters a bit. The lateness was a little too reminiscent of Usagi. I want to make all the characters more developed because then they'll work better with the sequel I'm writing (oops! did I say that out loud? hehehe...)


	3. Chapter 2

I bet you were wondering last chapter where the battle scene went. Well, I decided that I would break the first chapter in two, because in reality, it was a suuuper long chapter. So now it's two. :]

Hooray for two updates in one day! :D I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as I love revising it. Please review and let me know what you think. Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue.

* * *

**Chapter 2: The New Battle Begins  
**

Taking a deep breath, Kate prepared to read the embarrassing piece of poetry.

"Poetry is useless where I come from," a mysterious voice said. Much as she was relieved by the interruption, Kate was also scared. Where had that come from?

"What's going on here?" Mr. Lingua demanded. "Who said that?"

"Why, myself, of course," the voice spoke again. A form became present near the teacher and faded into existence. A woman in a bikini-bottomed tuxedo and top hat appeared holding a cane. Her long and blond hair flowed a little as she materialized. She glared with dark green eyes around the classroom. "I am Veneficus of the Magnusian Empire. I'm here to work a little magic and turn these children to the dark side."

Mr. Lingua jumped out of his chair and moved to protect the screaming students. They tried to get up but before they could, Veneficus waved a hand and they were strapped to their desks, struggling. Mr. Lingua fainted. Kate was out of Veneficus's range of vision so she ducked onto the floor and crawled out of the room. She felt some guilt leaving the others behind, especially Sheldon and Lisa, but she had an advantage and at least she could use it to get some help.

As she scrambled down the hallway, a strong tug motioned her toward the bathroom. Despite the fact that she knew it would be more beneficial to go to the front office, or at least another classroom to call 911, something in her gut told her she would find an answer there.

She pushed open the door in a frenzy, half-expecting a team of SWAT police to be on the other side, but when she looked around but no one was there. "What was I thinking?" she cried but before she could leave, a scratching at the window drew her attention to a magenta colored cat with big indigo eyes and a gold star on its forehead.

"What's a cat doing here?" Kate went over the window and opened it, letting the animal inside. The cat instantly curled up in her lap and purred. Stroking the feline calmed Kate and she said softly, "What's your name, kitty?"

"Mmrrrr...Astra."

Kate's eyes bulged at the sound of the cat's name being announced...by the cat itself! "D-d-did you just talk?"

"Whoops! I wasn't supposed to do that…" Kate back into a corner and Astra sighed. "Yes, I can speak. I am no ordinary cat, you see. I am a guardian-your guardian to be exact-and I'm not of this planet, which is why I have the ability to talk." Astra crept closer to Kate who tried to climb the wall of the bathroom in fear.

"This has GOT to be a dream. I've got to wake up. Someone pinch me!" Kate started to freak. Astra perched at the foot of the girl and smiled.

"I'll do you one better." She pulled back a paw, unsheathed her claws and raked down Kate's leg. She let out a cry of pain, then looked around and found that she was still in the school's bathroom. "Do you believe me now?"

Kate's eyes were almost an impossible size as she looked from Astra to her leg and back again. "I think I'm going to faint…"

"We don't have time for that, Kate. You have a job to do. You are actually a Sailor soldier and unfortunately, it's time for you to awaken your powers and defend your new home planet from the forces of evil. For instance, Veneficus, who is still in your classroom."

"Are you serious?"

"As serious as it gets." Astra did a backflip in the air. A brooch appeared and fell into Kate's open hands. The locket was circular, purple trimmed in gold, with a large gold star in the middle. In each of the concave corners there was a small gem: a silver one, an orange one, a light blue one and a red one. "This is the brooch with which you must transform. Take it and call out, 'X Crystal Power, Make up'."

"This is unbelievable…This is going to help my friends?" The cat nodded once. "Well…what have I got to lose?" Kate held up the brooch and called out, "X Crystal Power, Make up!" The brooch opened revealing a violet crystal which started to shine brightly. Ribbons of purple light streamed across the bathroom and around Kate changing her into a Sailor soldier.

When the transformation ended, Kate went to the mirror. She was wearing a white leotard with a purple, pleated mini skirt, sailor collar, and bows on her chest and near the small of her back. The brooch was now in the center of her chest bow. Her buns had purple hair ornaments and across her forehead was a golden tiara with a purple gem. A chocker of the same color was around her neck with a gold star in the center. She was wearing white gloves trimmed with purple rings on the end and purple high heeled boots with white trim and gold stars. Finally, she had two purple X-shaped earrings.

"Oh...my...gosh..." The newly transformed Kate went to a mirror and stared at her unrecognizable reflection in awe. She touched her face gingerly as if by doing that she would disappear. "Wow…"

"You have no time to gawk at yourself," Astra said. "You have to save the school from Veneficus!"

"Oh, right!" Kate jumped back from the mirror and turned to leave but stopped at the last second. "Wait! What's my name?"

"Sailor X," Astra replied. "Now go!"

Sailor X ran down the hallway back to her classroom and burst inside. She was admittedly worried, but she still sort of felt like it was a dream and so the fear of getting hurt wasn't much. On top of that, her adrenaline was running high because she knew that she had a room full of people who were counting on her, even if they didn't know it yet.

"Don't lay a hand on those kids!"

Veneficus turned to the doorway and casually said, "Oh, an interruption?" The students and Mr. Lingua looked her up and down in shock.

"Representing the distant planet of Xena, I am Sailor X! I fight for honor, truth, and love! And if you touch so much as a hair on any of their heads,-" Sailor X struck a pose "-you're going down!" She paused and returned to a normal stance with a look of confusion on her face. "Ok, where did those words come from?"

"You? I thought we defeated you back on you home planet! How did you get here?" Veneficus demanded angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Sailor X asked. "No other planets support life in all the universe. How could I have possibly live anywhere but on Earth?"

"Hmph. Obviously your memories have been modified. No matter, because either way, you won't have any memories soon." Veneficus put out her hand and in front of her another form appeared."Frustro Disappearing Act!"

A translucent woman appeared and bowed before Veneficus. "Yes, Master?"

"Make sure that you destroy the sailor girl and drain the foolish humans of their purity," Veneficus commanded the creature. Then she turned to Sailor X and smiled with a wave. "Tata for now." She disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Wanna play?" the Disappearing Act said.

"Not really…" Sailor X said. She wasn't sure what this crazy thing would do and she didn't really want to find out.

"Invisibility!" cried the creature and it faded away. Sailor X frantically looked around as the others in the room started screaming again.

"Everyone stay calm!" she called over their voices. "Ugh, where did it go?" Suddenly, one by one, the students were fainting in the back of the room. Sailor X realized that the thing must be draining them, but she had no idea what to do. She looked to Sheldon desperately but then realized he didn't know who she was and he couldn't possibly help her. For some reason, he was staring intently at her, almost as if he was trying to place her. Then he slumped in his seat as well.

"Sheldon!" Sailor X cried. Anger rose within her and words formed in her mouth. "X Hidden Beam!" She thrust her hands out and a purple ray of light hit the chalkboard on the back wall.

"Sailor X! You need to find a way to see her!" Astra called and Sailor X saw that she was standing in the doorway. The soldier looked around the classroom once again and this time spotted buckets of paint.

"That's it!" She ran to the back of the room and grabbed them, prying them open quickly, and hoping that Mr. Lingua wouldn't be the one blamed for the mess later on. She flung the the buckets splashing the paint on everything, including students. After a minute, she noticed that some of the splotches were moving. "There you are!"

"Wait Sailor X!" Astra backflipped again making a purple wand with a gold star on top. "Take this and call out 'Secret Star Magic'."

"Maybe you should have given me this in the first place!" Sailor X shouted, but nevertheless picked up the wand and held it high above her head. "Secret Star Magic!" Golden light filled the room and turned the creature to dust with a scream of, "Encore!"

Everyone started to stir around the room, including Sheldon who looked to Sailor X and smiled with a thumbs up. Sailor X wanted to go over to him and fawn over him but she couldn't let him know who she was. Instead, she smiled back and ran back to the bathroom with Astra following behind.

"How do I change back to normal?" Sailor X asked when they got back into the bathroom.

"Just pull off you brooch." Sailor X obeyed and her uniform faded, changing her back to Kate. She stored the brooch in her pocket and then sat in a corner.

"Astra," Kate said solemnly. "Veneficus said something about my 'home planet'. Something like I'm not really from Earth. Is it…true?"

Astra sighed sadly. "Yes…Unfortunately it is true." Astra sighed. "It is time that I show you your past."


	4. Chapter 3

Ok, the only thing I don't like about this chapter is the 'keeping Astra' thing. That part has always been really weak, no matter what I try to do with it. So I give up. Other than that, I hope you like it and please review to let me know what you think. I haven't gotten one review yet for this revision :( But that's ok, I still love you all.

By the way, I have an idea for an original story and I think it could actually work! I'm writing a prologue type thing now. I don't have a title for it yet (of course, because that's always the last thing that I have) but I think this might actually be the first real original story that I can get through start to finish. Wish me luck everyone!

Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See Prologue

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**Chapter 3: Learning the Truth**

Kate and Astra sat across from each other on the floor of the girl's bathroom. Astra asked Kate to lock the door and she did what she was told before kneeling once again on the linoleum.

"Are you sure you want to know now?" Astra asked. "You don't necessarily have to take all your memories back this very moment." A feeling of dread formed in her stomach as she thought about what she was about to witness, even though she had no idea what she was to expect. But she knew that she needed to know the truth.

"I'm sure. Tell me."

"Alright." Astra situated herself, laying down and curling her tail around herself. "Allow me to start with a basic background. There is a planet by the name of Xena that lies far from here near the edge of this galaxy. This place was where you were originally born, under the name Astrifi Xenician. You were the princess and also the planet's Sailor soldier representation, Sailor X. As such, you were leader of a team of Sailor soldiers who protected the planet from any forces of danger. At the time of our departure from Xena, you and your team had been only two years into your training, as you had started at ten years of age. That was why you weren't prepared when it happened…"

"What exactly happened?"

Astra then sat up. "I'll show you." A gold light came from the star on her forehead and beamed into Kate's, unblocking a flood of lost memories, filling her mind with images that had been hidden from her for four years.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

_Four years earlier on Xena_

Astrifi was making her way from one end of the palace to the other for her daily tutoring in the drawing room. This was the norm for the young princess who was still in training, not only to be a Sailor soldier, but also to be a proper young lady and a future queen. She smiled as she swished the skirt of her long purple gown to and fro.

"Princess!" someone suddenly called behind her causing Astrifi to turn back. One of her maids, an aged woman with white hair and green eyes, came running towards her. She looked disheveled and frantic. "Princess! You must come at once! We're under attack!"

"What?" the princess cried.

"It's true!" Astra came running up behind the woman. "It's Magnus! She's outside with her minions and your parents are…they are…"

"What do you mean?" Astrifi demanded.

Astra's eyes filled with tears and Astrifi gasped, her own eyes welling. But she blinked back the tears before they could come. "Then it looks like we must fight! In the name of my parents, the King and Queen, Magnus shall not have this planet!"

"Princess, no, we must flee!" the maid shouted as Astrifi ran to find her other Sailor soldiers.

Sprinting down the corridor that she had just come, Astrifi felt a large shake under her feet as a 'BOOM' resounded outside the castle walls. Nevertheless, she continued. Bursting into a room on her right, she found it empty. Her soldiers were supposed to be here. Could they have already started to fight?

Checking a few other rooms in the hall came with no results. Astrifi feared for the lives of her team and knew that if she herself didn't soon join the fray, all could be lost. Deciding it was better to just go and fight herself, she left the palace and jumped into the battle.

"How dare you!" the princess cried when she saw an evil woman floating high above, cackling at what she believed to be a victory. She wore a long, dark cloak with a hood covering her pale face. The cloak was billowing in the wind to reveal the black gown she wore underneath.

"Oh, well if it isn't little miss Princess. You may as well surrender, my sweet. Half of your best have already done so. The other half…they were not so lucky." Magnus gestured to the bodies strewn across the courtyard. Astrifi didn't look long enough to see the corpses of her parents.

"You really think you can win when you have such foul purposes? Evil will never prevail so long as there is good. And I am here to be that one small speck of hope. X Crystal Power, Make up!"

Both leaders let out shrill cries. Sailor X plunged into the battle and began blasting at everyone she came in contact with, being that the majority of people who were left were with Magnus. There were screams and scratches, blood spilled through the gardens turning white flowers red. Slowly but surely, Sailor X fought off many of Magnus's greatest with the little aid of her remaining defensive forces of Xena. But eventually, she could barely stand and collapsed to the ground weakly.

"Enough!" Sailor X finally whispered. "It's time to unleash my secret weapon." She closed her eyes and a purple glow surrounded her. A strong wind seemed to blow around her and she was changed into her most powerful form. She now has short, round sleeves and a layered skirt in shades of purple. Her gloves were longer and instead of her tiara she had a gold star.

She opened her brooch and pulled the crystal from its spot. Her Star Wand appeared in front of her and she put the crystal inside. The wand grew making the star larger and the handle longer. Snapping her eyes open, Sailor X gave a death glare to her foe.

"You're not the only one with a backup plan!" Magnus screamed. She raised her arms producing a current of white energy around them until a ball of power appeared in her hands.

"Super Star Crystal Power!" Sailor X cried. An intense blast of purple light came from the top of her staff.

Magnus thrust her hands forward. The two beams of energy crashed head on and the entire planet was engulfed in a light purple blaze. When everything cleared, only six of the Magnus's troops remained besides the evil leader herself. Sailor X dropped to her knees, her transformation becoming undone. She could only stare in horror at her home. The palace smoked and was nothing but some leftover wall pieces and charred bodies. All those who had been fighting around her were dead. Patches of grass and tress were still burning, and the sky was choked with a thick cloud of smog.

"What…What have you done?" Astrifi screamed, tears pouring down her face. "My planet! My people! Everything's…gone!"

"This is as much your fault as it is mine!" Magnus shouted back. "If they had just cooperated in the first place, I would have let them live under my rule. But now there is nothing but barren wasteland left. Such a nice little planet…I believe I will use it in the future. I will return after regrouping in three rotation's time. If you are still here then…I have pity on your soul."

Magnus and her empire's last members teleported away. Astrifi wept in the same spot she had fallen to, unable to move. She knew that it was true, that it was partially her own power that had singed her home plane. Partially her fault that all the people she had ever known and loved were now deceased.

But after a moment, a soft pawing could be heard. Astrifi blinked tears from her eyes and saw that Astra was walking towards her, looking as grief-stricken as the princess. She was badly injured but at least still living.

"Princess…" she said as she approached with a limp. "Your soldiers have survived." At this, a fresh wave of sobs overtook Astrifi, though this time they were of happiness.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate snapped back into reality and her face was solemn. It was a moment before she could find her voice, but eventually she asked, "What happened after that?"

"I knew that we needed to escape to another life-filled planet quickly, and so I contacted my cousin here on Earth, Luna," Astra explained. "I then teleported the five of you here, wiped your memories, and placed you into families who would take care of you properly. I knew where you were and that if need be, I could reawaken you in case of danger. For four years, everything has been quiet. But it would seem that Magnus has found a new target in the Earth."

"Why doesn't Magnus attack the way she did on Xena? Not that I want her to of course."

"Xena was a much smaller planet with a small population. There was no need for piece by piece conquering like that which is necessary on Earth," the cat explained.

"And you say there are four others? Who are they?" A bittersweet excitement filled Kate at the prospect of meeting people from her true past and finding her original friends.

Astra bowed her head and shook it. "Unfortunately, I do not know. I was so troubled by the memories of Xena that I myself eliminated the most vivid ones, leaving only the strict facts of what I needed to know in order to get in touch with you, the princess. The reason you have been given all of your memories is because I merely used my powers four years ago to suppress them temporarily, and just now, I broke down the blockade so that you could see them again. I was silly enough to erase my memories permanently in hopes that you would be able to remember."

"Oh…" Kate tried to picture the other Sailor soldiers. She could see orange and yellow, blue, red, and silver, but nothing of the faces that belonged to the other heroes.

Just then, the intercom bell rang. "Attention students and staff! A strange attack has just taken place in the classroom of Mr. Lingua. We are unsure of the threat's target or goal, but it has apparently left the building. That being said, the school will be closed for the remainder of the day and all of tomorrow while we take as much precautionary action as possible and establish new systems of defense and safety. All who are currently in the building must please report to the auditorium until the specially called buses arrive to transport you back to your homes. Please make any notifications that may be needed to parents and guardians. Thank you, and please stay safe."

"I guess we had better get going…" Kate said but Astra shook her head.

"Unfortunately, I cannot for I am a cat, and cats aren't allowed in schools if I'm not mistaken. I will wait outside your apartment building for you." She jumped up onto the sink and back to the window in which she had come.

"Wait, Astra!" Kate called.

"Yes?"

"My family…they aren't my real family, are they?"

Astra looked intently at Kate for a moment before she let a small smile cross her lips. "Kate…Family isn't always about blood. It's more about the special people in your life that love you and whom you love in return." With that, the feline pushed her nose to the window and disappeared.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate made her way to the auditorium alone. Other students and teachers were sprinting around her frantically but she found no sense of urgency now that she knew that she could protect herself. She was more concerned, at the moment, about her newly recovered memories.

She felt like a great weight had been placed upon her shoulders. When she tried to recall things that had happened in the time when she would have been on Xena, she found that all that was there was emptiness. It was as if the thoughts were there, but since she could not actively picture much else besides the one scene Astra had shown her, she could not bring them to the front of her mind.

The fact that all of the people of her old planet had died partially by her own hand made her feel guilty on top of everything else. There was no need for an entire population to be wiped out.

_I won't let it happen again. I'll fight and win for those innocent victims from this point forward..._ With a new determination, she walked into the auditorium and spotted Lisa and Sheldon. For some reason she felt a jolt inside of her at the sight of them, like a sort of de ja vu, but she brushed it off.

"Kate!" Lisa sprinted to her and hugged her. "Are you ok?"

"Where did you go?" Sheldon asked. "You disappeared after that freak came in."

"I'm fine...I ran out because I was scared. I hid in a bathroom and I heard the announcement just now," Kate lied to her friends; friends she had until now thought she had known basically all her life. All of that was an illusion...But what Astra said was true, because they did love her, no matter how long it had been. "You never showed up to class, Lisa. Where were you?"

"I had to go to the office and got held up. Then they got the call from Mr. Lingua when it was over and told me to stay there until they found out what was going on." Kate was glad her other friend had been safe.

"You missed it, Kate. There was this super hero girl who came in and saved us," Sheldon said.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Shel keeps talking about this Sailor Z or something who swooped in."

"It was Sailor X, Lisa." Kate clasped a hand over her mouth realizing her mistake. Quickly she covered up. "I...heard some other people...talking about her."

The other brunette raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Anyway, I think it's a bunch of bull. There's no such thing as magical super girls who wear sailor outfits."

"But I saw her, and so did the rest of my class. She had powers and she killed the monster thing that the crazy lady sent out. Not to mention she was pretty too. I wouldn't make this up." Sheldon and Lisa had a minor staredown before the latter finally gave in.

"Whatever..." she shrugged, putting her hands up in surrender. Sheldon nodded with a smirk and the three took their seats to wait for the buses.

"You know what was weird about her...I felt like I'd seen her or heard of her before," Sheldon said after a moment, more to himself than to either of the girls.

"You know, you're probably thinking of that 'Sailor North Star' person. My grandma talks about how she used to protect people from evil forces back when she was my age. Same deal with the magic powers and everything. But I'm still skeptical," Lisa said.

"I'll have to research it," Sheldon muttered.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

After a full head count of every person in the school, they were released into the buses in single file lines, counted as they went along. Police tape surrounded the outside of the spot where Mr. Lingua's classroom was. Cop cars lined the sidewalks and pedestrians were standing around trying to get a glimpse of what was going on.

The bus was full of more chatter about Sailor X than the threat of Veneficus.

"She was really pretty."

"I can't believe she has super powers!"

"Aren't there sailor girls in Japan?"

Kate felt like a hero, but had to keep the glory to herself. She basked in silence as the students who usually didn't notice her existence praised her indirectly. She even overheard Bebe claiming that she had talked to Sailor X and that they had hit it off. She rolled her eyes, knowing that hell would freeze over sooner than that would actually happen.

The bus stopped directly outside of the Webster Apartment building instead of the regular bus stop, so as to ensure that all who lived there got off in safety. Bebe stepped out first and ran inside. Kate and Lisa followed.

"Aww, look! A cat" Lisa cooed. "It's so pretty!" Astra was curled up near the corner of the building near an alley. "I've never seen one with that color fur. And look at that star on its head! We should totally keep it!"

"Um...That's a great idea! But isn't your mom allergic to cats?" Kate asked, trying to think of an excuse so that Lisa wouldn't keep Astra.

"No...she's allergic to grapefruits..." Lisa eyed her friend suspiciously.

"W-Well...does the building even allow pets?"

"We can ask the manager. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. That guy loves us!"

"I...Ugh, ok." Kate sighed and decided that it wouldn't make that much of a difference if Astra just lived one floor below her.

"Awesome!" Lisa went over to Astra and held a hand out saying, "Here, kitty, kitty!" The feline made a show of sniffing her for a minute before rubbing up against her warmly. Lisa then scooped her up into her arms and went inside and Kate followed.

Lisa rang the bell on the front desk and called out, "Mr. Bun!" A moment later, a short, stout, and jolly looking man came out from a door in the wall.

"Ah, Lisa. How may I help you?" he asked.

"We found this stray outside and we were wondering if it was alright if we kept it."

"Why of course! What a lovely one it is too. A strange color, magenta..." Mr. Bun scratched behind Astra's ears and she purred instantly.

"Thanks so much, Mr. Bun! We promise she won't be any trouble." Lisa waved energetically and made her way to the elevator.

When they were inside and had pushed their floor buttons, Lisa turned to Kate and saw the slightly resigned look on her face. "Ok, what's up? Did you not want to keep it?"

"Wha? No, that's not it."

"Oh, I get it. You want to keep it at your place. Well, that's cool. As long as I can come and visit it whenever I want. Here." She passed Astra into Kate's arms and smiled.

"Thanks, Lisa. It's a she, by the way."

"How do you know?" Lisa asked. "Ah, never mind. What are you going to name her then?"

"Her name is Astra. It goes with her little birthmark." Kate pointed to Astra's forehead.

"Clever," Lisa said, putting a hand to her chin and looking at Astra in appraisal. "But I would have named her Lisa."


	5. Chapter 4

Hey gang! Look what I've got! A shiny new chapter! This one I think came out really good. And once again it's a split of one that used to be really big into two smaller ones. So this one is kind of filler, lol. But it develops some key points, like the fact that Kate isn't hugely fond of her Earth mother and that her and her grandmother are close. Plus there's a cool news segment in the beginning and I love writing news segments XD. Anyway, hope you enjoy and continue to read. I did get a review last chapter :D But I'd like more por favor. It's every writer's dream to be reviewed every chapter. (hinthint)

Also, working on my original story which is looking pretty FABULOUS as my GBF would say XD And I'm thinking about picking up **Ask Some Nations** again...What do you think? Let me know! Love ya!

~SXS

P.S. (Fail title is fail for this chapter XD Also, used 'XD' face a lot today XD)

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 4: Rural Grandma, City Child**

When Kate and Astra returned to their apartment, they decided to turn on the news and see how much coverage the story at the school was getting. They soon discovered that it was the most popular story on all of the local stations and a few nationwide. Settling on one channel, they listened to see what was being said.

Footage of the outside of Kate's school was shown on the screen as a female reporter spoke. "Police are still baffled by what they say was a strange attack on a New York City high school earlier this morning. Students in one particular classroom of Norman Thomas High were assaulted by a woman who they said appeared out of thin air. They claim that she restrained them to their seats and produced a monster that turned invisible and attacked each individual. One girl describes the experience."

The image changed to a girl in Kate's English class. "I felt very strange. I wasn't completely unconscious after it had attacked me, and I found that I felt almost like I'd never be happy again. It reminded me of the feelings they talk about in Harry Potter when dementors attack. I never want to be in that situation again."

Once again, the picture changed to show the damage inside Mr. Lingua's room. "The only evidence that there was any sort of threat is the mass amounts of paint splattered around the room. But when asked, none of the students remember this occurrence, and most will say it wasn't the monster.

"The people in the room seem to believe that a mysterious hero-girl with a sailor collar came to their rescue. They identified her as having long brunette hair and being dressed mostly in purple. Most say that her name is Sailor X, and that it was thanks to her that they are all living to tell the tale."

"Oh my gosh, Sheldon!" Kate jumped up and looked closer at the television which now showed an image of her friend. She found herself glued to the screen, having an excuse to stare at him without question.

"Sailor X saved us all. If you're out there, I thank you." He looked straight at the camera and gave a salute. It was like he was looking right into her eyes and her heart warmed with affection.

"Although NTHS is planning on upping their security tenfold, police are still worried after the whole incident. Some in the classroom at the time said that the woman seemed to know Sailor X. Even if she did save their lives, is she a safe person to be around?" Kate took offense to this.

The next shot was of her principle. "We are installing everything we can think of, from metal detectors, to security cameras, to sensitive alarm systems. Nothing will be held back in the way of safety for our children. As for this Sailor X, if she proves to bring danger with her, she will not be welcome inside our walls."

"Some refuse to believe that an incident occurred. Since there was no evidence of the threat, they wonder if perhaps it's all an insurance scam. Indeed, the woman asked for no ransom on the hostage students, nor did she express the desire to kill one particular person. The attack was unconventional and confusing. We can only hope that this will be the last time we see her. For 78 News, I'm Kristen Franchello. Back to you, Nate."

The screen switched back to the anchorman at the studio, who nodded. "Thank you, Kristen. You know, this reminds me of that old Sailor North Star story my parents used to tell me. She was pretty popular in her day for saving and protecting people. Hopefully this Sailor X girl has the same thing going for her. Now, in other news-"

Kate turned the TV off and sat back on the couch. "Well, what does that mean for us?" she asked Astra as the cat took to her lap and curled up.

"It means you have to watch yourself. You must be extremely careful about when and where you transform." When Kate gave her a quizzical look, she went on. "The media will want to learn all they can about you and will be ready to pay large sums of money for information. That means everyone is a threat to your secret. And when the media knows your identity, Magnus can find out and that will spell disaster for us all."

"Oh, I see...So I can't tell anyone at all?" In a way she had wanted to let Lisa and Sheldon know. They were her best friends after all, and had never kept secrets from each other before.

"If you're thinking of letting your friends know, I would advise against it. There are only so many people who are trustworthy in this world, and though I'm sure you believe them to be, it would be safer just to keep it between us." Astra jumped down and walked toward the kitchen. "By the way, I eat normal people food so there's no need to get me anything extra. I do need a litter box though, if you don't mind fetching me one."

Kate giggled. "If only all cats were as easy to please, maybe Mom would have let me have one sooner."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

All was quiet for a while. Days rolled in and out, Astra kept watch for the other Sailor soldiers and for any possible danger while Kate returned to Norman Thomas High School where the security procedures made for the day having to start an hour earlier. The October air chilled around New York City as the summer dissolved into fall. The school-bound students, tired of the tedious routine they were now subjected to every morning, looked forward to Columbus Day to catch up on their much needed sleep.

Kate had just gotten home on the Friday before, pleased that there had been no activity as far as battling was concerned. As she stepped through the door, the phone rang and she heard her mother pick it up in the office.

"Hello?" she heard her say. "Hi Mom!" This meant that the call was from her grandmother in New Jersey. A pang in her heart reminded her that she wasn't related to her grandmother by blood. But as she remembered all the wonderful times they had had together and the close bond that they shared, the thought was wiped from her mind.

"Really? Oh, I'm sure she'd love to!"

"Who is she talking to?" Astra asked.

"My grandma. Sounds like she's about to pass her over to me," Kate replied. Sure enough, her mother called from the office for Kate to pick up the other phone. The brunette went to the kitchen and took the receiver off the hook on the wall. "Hi Grandma. How's it going? What's it like over there in the rural world?" Kate had always teased her grandmother for living in a setting completely opposite to her own.

On the other end, Jane Astrum spoke. "Oh haha! At least out here we're not being attacked by crazy monsters and strange women. Are you alright dear? I heard your school was the one that got hit!"

"Yeah, we're fine. There was this superhero. Really cool, saved the day and everything! But enough about that," Kate said eager to change the subject. "What's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you might want to come out here for a sleepover since you have a three day weekend. There's this new play at the theater that I know you'd love. What do you say?"

"Sounds awesome!" Kate jumped a little from excitement, but then remembered that she now had a duty to protect her city in case Veneficus or any of Magnus's other minions attacked. "But...I have to ask Mom. Hang on a second."

Putting the phone on the table, Kate went back to the living room. "Astra...would it be alright for me to go to Great Meadows for the weekend?"

"Where's that?"

"About...two hours away from here." She ended in a big smile hoping that would make Astra comply, but the feline gave her a skeptical look.

"I don't know, Kate. Anything could happen, and knowing how these stories usually go, as soon as you leave someone will attack and you won't be here to stop them. Although...there is one way. Well, I guess it's alright."

"Yes! Thank you!" Kate said running over to her and giving her a good ear scratch that made Astra purr heartily. She then returned to the phone to tell her grandmother that they were set.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

_Great Meadows, NJ_

With duffel bag in hand and a smile on her face, Kate stepped out of the taxi and onto the grass of her grandmother's lawn. She paied the fare and the driver pulled away. Although there was nothing about the city she didn't love, Kate had to admit that the country scenery was beautiful. The sky was unobstructed by buildings and everything seemed more peaceful. It would do her well to clear her head for a few days.

As she walked up the pathway to the porch, she noticed the sunlight glinting off of the new communicator watch that Astra had given her when she left. Its strap was purple with gold lining and the face was a miniature screen lined in the same colors.

"If anything happens while you're gone," Astra had said. "then I will contact you. You can teleport back here and take care of the problem."

There had been no time to ask what she meant by 'teleporting' but she figured she would find out later and that nothing would go wrong while she was gone.

Kate knocked on the door and a voice from inside called, "Just a moment!" The door opened revealing a white-haired woman with sparkling blue eyes. "Oh, sweetie, it's so good to see you!" She opened her arms wide.

"Hi, Grandma!" Kate set down her bags and gave her a hug. Three cats came to greet her as well, one white with gray splotches and amber eyes, one light orange with stripes and a white chest and stomach with amber eyes, and one light gray with a white chest and paws with green eyes.

"These are Gretchen, Rusty, and Prissy," her grandmother pointed to each of the cats in turn. "Gretchen loves to be pet on the head but not on the back, Rusty loves attention, and Prissy is a little shy but I'm sure you'll all get along."

They walked up the steps to the guest room at the end of the hall. The walls, floor, and ceiling were completely pastel. Kate plopped her bags on the floor. "Wow, Grandma, this room is so...bright."

"Well, I hope it's not too much for you. If it is I can put you in a different spare room. Now, make yourself comfortable and I'll go make a snack for us and we can catch up. You're probably hungry after all that lonesome traveling." Her grandmother dismissed herself leaving the three cats in her wake.

Her grandmother's mention of the journey being a solo endeavor ticked her off a bit, as she was reminded that her mother once again took no responsibility. Instead of driving Kate out to her grandmother's, she left her with bus and taxi money and told her that she'd pick her up for sure. She now realized why her and her mother weren't anything alike: they weren't actually related.

But that made it all the more strange that Kate was similar to her grandmother. After all, they weren't related either. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Kate thought that perhaps now would be a good time to call Astra since her grandmother wasn't in the room. Kate pushed a button on the side of the watch. "Astra, it's Kate. I'm here."

"Ah, Kate! Good to hear that you made it safely." Astra's face appeared on the screen. "There seems to be no trouble here. I'll call you if you're needed."  
"Wait, Astra! What did you mean before when you said teleporting?"

"Well, you just-"

"Who's talking in there?" Kate's mother's voice could be heard on Astra's end.

"Your mother's coming. I have to go." Astra disappeared. Kate was a bit worried about not having been able to find out how to teleport but she didn't let it bother her too much. Her grandmother's footsteps could be heard in the hallway and she smelled warm chocolate chip cookies.

A knock at the door signaled the return of Jane Astrum. "Fresh cookies and milk, as is tradition." Setting down the tray on the end of the bed, both females took a glass and a cookie each and dunked, chatting about everything that had been going on in the past few weeks.

Later the two went out to dinner together and when they returned to the house they watched a movie together. By then it was 9:30 and Kate's grandmother decided to turn in for the night. "Early to bed, early to rise I always say. Sweet dreams, dear," she said as she kissed Kate good night.

But despite her grandmother's wishes, Kate had anything but a sweet dream.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate could see her younger self, Astrifi, in the grand foyer of her palace. Two people came in from the hallway behind her. One was a man, with royal purple eyes and neatly combed brown hair. He wore a dark gray suit and a cape. Standing next to him was a woman with a maroon hoop dress, her dirty blonde hair pulled into a bun with a tiara on her head. Her eyes sparkled the color of a purple rose.

"Dearest Astrifi, what are you doing just standing here?" the woman asked. She had a concerned look on her face. The man next to her also looked interested in what she was doing. Kate couldn't remember why her past self had been standing there, but Astrifi answered.

"I was just admiring this painting. It's always been one of my favorites, Mother." Kate was surprised at what Astrifi had ended her sentence with. These were her real parents?

"Well, please make sure you do not dilly dally too long. Remember, you have lessons today," the man who was presumably her father said.

"Of course, Father," Astrifi replied. Kate watched as the king patted her head as he walked by and the queen bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. She could almost feel the warm sensation of love at the scene even though she wasn't actively part of it anymore.

Time passed, although Kate wasn't sure how much. Eventually she saw Astrifi go towards her lessons and the scene was suddenly very familiar. The attack of Xena was about to occur again. Sure enough, the frantic maid appeared a moment later, and Astrifi was dashing off to find her friends. But Kate wasn't going to waste that moment. She ran in the opposite direction to the gardens where the battle was in progress.

Perhaps, now that she was older, she could take on Magnus and win. Perhaps she could change the future.

"X Crystal Power, Make up!" she called but nothing happened. Looking down at her shirt, she realized that her brooch was missing. Without it, she couldn't transform, and she couldn't save all those innocent people.

"Looking for this?" a voice called. Evil laughter filled the air. Magnus rose into the air and held up the brooch in the air before throwing it hard to the ground where it smashed. "Now who will save you, little princess?" As Magnus cackled evilly, her army closed in around the defenseless Kate who screamed for help as she was swallowed by darkness.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Suddenly, Kate sat up in bed, dowsed in a cold sweat. The clock on the wall read 3:30 AM. Immediately, she reached for the communicator watch on the bedside table and turned it on. The screen lit up and made a faint sound while contacting Astra in the city.

The maroon cat's face appeared looking groggy. "What's the matter, Kate? It's after 3:00 in the morning." An aggravated tone was present in her voice.

"I...I had a dream. I needed to tell you just in case it meant something," Kate explained, panting slightly. She then proceeded to tell the dream to Astra.

After hearing Kate fully, Astra paused in thought. "I believe the dream is simply your repressed memories coming back to you more clearly. It's easier for you to see them in dreams because your subconscious is open. This will probably happen a little more often until your mind becomes used to them again."

"And those two in the foyer?"

"Were most certainly your parents..."

Kate smiled fondly. Though she didn't really know them now as Kate, she knew that as Astrifi she had loved them very much.

Footsteps came from outside the door and a moment later a knock sounded. "Kate, dear? Are you awake in there?" Her grandmother's voice called.

"I have to go, Astra." Kate clicked off the watch and clicked on the television to disguise the fact that she had been talking to someone. A moment later her grandmother opened the door and peeked her head inside.

"Is everything alright?"

"Oh!" Kate acted surprised. "I just had a bad dream and wanted to watch a little TV to help get back to sleep." She gave her grandmother a smile.

"I told you that popcorn and pie wasn't a good combination before bed." Jane came into the room fully and kissed Kate on the head, much like her birth mother had done in the dream. "Don't up for too long, now," her grandmother warned. "You don't want to be falling asleep during the show." With a wink, she walked out and closed the door.

Kate gave a sigh of relief. This Sailor soldier business was turning into a lot of quick thinking, lying, and excuses. She settled herself back into the bed and watched the screen, trying to erase the nightmare from her thoughts. After a while, she drifted back to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

Double uploads! Yup, I put of another chapter of TMTGT and now this :D This is the second half of the previously-one-chapter grandma story. In the original it was much quicker and kinda left it like I was going to write the story for North Star. And I want to but at the same time I never got any inspiration for it. So...I guess in the future when I'm done with this and anything else I'm working on (ie the original story I'm planning, or just my schoolwork in general XD) then maybe I'll do it. Yeah...Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and review to let me know how I'm doing! Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 5: Her Grandmother's Granddaughter**

The rest of Kate's night was restless and she woke up groggy at around 9:00. She distantly remembered that she was at her grandmother's and that brought her fully back into reality where she smelled eggs and bacon being cooked.

Drifting down the stairs and into the kitchen where her Jane Astrum was happily finishing off breakfast, Kate worked to rub the sand from her eyes. The nightmare of the night before seemed to have faded but was still slightly present in her memory. She tried to block it out by making conversation with her grandmother.

"Morning, Grandma," she said, sitting at the table.

"Good morning, dear. Are you alright after last night?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired still. But I promise I'll be wide awake for the play." She smiled and her grandmother placed a plate in front of her piled high with juicy strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, and hot toast.

"Wonderful. I know you're going to love it. It's like Broadway almost but more homey. Your Grandpa Chester used to love that place..." Kate's grandmother went into a silent reverie of her husband. For reasons unknown, Kate's grandfather disappeared almost a year prior. No trace of him could be found, though police were still looking. Jane had wanted to search herself because she felt that it wasn't something they were used to dealing with, but they wouldn't let an 'elderly woman' such as herself to go on her own to take out a kidnapper. Jane of course believed this to be rubbish but let them do their thing even though she knew it would be unsuccessful.

Kate let her grandmother have a few moments before she said, "Well, I hope it isn't as fancy as Broadway because I didn't bring anything super special to wear."

"Oh, no worries, sweetheart, you'll do fine with a nice shirt and clean pants." She smiled as she put her own plate onto the table and began to eat. The two chatted, Kate making sure to avoid topics that might lead to her grandmother thinking of her grandfather. She didn't want her to be depressed when they were going to have such a good day together.

After breakfast and showers, the two were on their way to the little theater. It took about twenty minutes to get there and after another ten of waiting in line for snacks, they finally got their seats.

"Wow, Grandma, these seats are amazing!" Kate commented when they were sat ten rows from the front.

Her grandmother chuckled and said, "I know a guy," with a wink.

The play, Drapes, was a musical mystery and a play within a play. Kate was rather enjoying herself when suddenly, a blinking light came from her wrist. The communicator watch was going off and that meant trouble at home. People around her started giving her looks of annoyance at the interruption. Kate tried to turn it off until she could get out to the hallway, but then a loud beeping began. Embarrassed, she tried to make her way out of the aisle without squishing anyone. She told her grandma that she'd be in the bathroom and bolted out of the theater.

The lady's room was empty so Kate felt it safe to answer the watch's call in the open. "Astra, you just interrupted the play!" was the first thing she said, a bit upset about the embarrassment.

"The audience will get over it, I'm sure. Veneficus is back and attacking. You have to come back to New York!" Astra was frantic.

"How in the world am I supposed to do that?" Kate exclaimed.

"Just transform and I'll explain."

Kate saw no other option. "X Crystal Power, Make up!" The shining purple ribbons of light engulfed her once again and she became the hero, Sailor X.

She looked back to the watch and Astra began to speak again. "All you have to do is concentrate very hard. Just keep thinking of where you want to be and then when it seems like the right time shout out 'Sailor Teleport'."

"This is that teleporting thing you were talking about? That sounds ridiculous!"

"Just trust me!"

Sighing, Kate closed her eyes and thought of Astra. She repeating to herself in her head, _I want to be where Astra is..._ With her eyes still tightly shut she shouted, "SAILOR TELEPORT!" Her long brown hair went up in the air and she started to float in a purple glow. Suddenly, in a flash of brilliant white light, she vanished into thin air.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Jane Astrum closed the door to the women's bathroom. She decided it wasn't worth it to go back and watch the rest of the play. Instead, she left the theater alone and drove back to her home.

She had known her granddaughter was Sailor X since that cat had brought her to them four years prior. That was partially the reason why she wanted Kate to stay for the weekend; she wanted to talk to her about it and tell her that she too had once been a Sailor soldier. She just hadn't expected that there would be danger so soon and that Kate would have to leave.

As she drove she dove into a reverie of the night that Astra had brought Kate to her own daughter's apartment in New York City.

_Astrum residence, four years earlier_

Rain poured endlessly outside the windows. Jane sat alone in the living room of the New York City apartment she shared with her daughter. Said woman was in the bedroom sleeping soundly while Jane watched one of her favorite late-night television shows.

A sudden creaking sound made her jump. The front door had opened in the crack between door and frame stood a small maroon cat, with shining indigo eyes, and a golden star on its forehead.

"What? A cat?" Jane asked no one. She was unsure whether or not to approach it but decided that she had dealt with worse than a stray before. Standing up and walking over to the feline, she put out a hand cautiously and whispered, "Where did you come from, little one?"

The cat approached her and purred, rubbing its head against her hand. Jane scratched behind its ears. "Strange for a stray to make it all the way up here. You're a special one you are."

"Mrrr, thank you! Oops…" The cat looked up to Jane waiting for the shock of seeing a cat talk appear upon the woman's face. However, she didn't even flinch.

"I'm used to it," Jane answered the unspoken question.

"Well…That's unexpected. But Luna must have known which is why she sent me here. Ah, I forget my manners. My name is Astra and I have a favor to ask of you and your daughter." The cat sat down and curled her tail around her paws.

"What would that be?" Jane asked. She then noticed that there was a small bubble on the tip of Astra's tail. When the cat flicked it, the bubble floated in front of them and grew large enough so that a girl could be seen inside. She had long brunette hair and looked about preteen-aged.

"This girl is a princess of a recently attacked planet and a Sailor soldier. She needs a home and your daughter is without a child of her own. Would it be acceptable if she became a part of your family?"

"What happened to her own planet?"

Astra was silent for a moment and Jane noticed an expression of grave mourning. She continued and ignored the question. "If you accept her you will be doing her a great service."

"I have no issue with this. But why would you tell me such information?" Jane asked.

"Because I plan to erase your memories and replace them with new ones. It will be as if she has always lived with you and was your blood relative. No one will think anything of it. I only asked your permission and told you to be polite."

"You won't need to erase my mind. I know how to keep a secret." Jane smirked.

Astra raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? With a secret of such magnitude, how can I be sure?"

Jane pulled a small golden object from her pocket and Astra gasped. The woman's smirk only became larger. "I had no idea!" Astra whispered in shock. "No wonder Luna sent me here…Sailor North Star, I trust you with the life of our princess."

With that, Kate became a part of their family. She was renamed from her old name as a princess and all but Jane's memories were modified. However, she wasn't sure if she might not accidentally slip something vital to Kate or her new mother that would give away her true past. It was for this reason that she decided that she would move somewhere close and yet far so that the secret would be as safe as possible.

Jane instantly fell in love with her new granddaughter. She had never realized before Kate how much she had wanted one. She made sure that she showed Kate all the love that she could because she knew the hardships she experienced in her old life must have been devastating if her planet was no longer inhabitable. She tried to be the best grandmother that she could be and made a vow that when and if the time came that Kate would once again be Sailor X, she would be there for her.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

A purple glowing ball of light appeared in the middle of a busy New York street. As cars zoomed back and forth, a girl in a strange uniform suddenly burst out of the light and scrambled trying to get to a sidewalk. Sailor X screamed as she attempted to find safety. Finally she jumped onto the walkway and Astra made her way over to her.

"Not bad for a first try! But next time, concentrate on landing somewhere remotely safer," the cat commented.

"No kidding!"

"Come, let's go!" Astra ran away and Sailor X followed closely behind. She discovered that her guardian was leading her to the one and only famous Macy's when she saw the street right outside crowded with police cars.

"You'll have to teleport inside being that the place is surrounded. Just remember what I said before. We don't need you to land on top of a chandelier or something and be stuck there."

"Right…" Sailor X concentrated on where being where Veneficus was attacking. "SAILOR TELEPORT!" she cried again and repeated the process, this time managing to land in a large open space of floor. Distant sounds of panic could be heard and the former princess followed her ears to Veneficus.

"Hey, blondie!"

With a bored expression, Veneficus turned around from where she was terrorizing customers. She had just frozen them to their places so that she could drain their good energies. "Oh great. The Purple Hall Monitor is back."

"Ooh, what a striking insult. I don't think I'll ever get over it," Sailor X replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I can't let you do this again, Veneficus! You didn't win last time and you won't win this time! Representing the distant planet of Xena, I am Sailor X! I fight for honor, truth, and love! You leave those poor people alone or you're going down!"

"Oh, here we go again. Come forth, Frustro Card Trick." Veneficus thrust her hand forward and a giant card rose from the floor. It flipped to show its face to Sailor X and she saw that it was a King of Hearts. Arms sprouted from the sides and legs sprouted from the bottom. "Take care of these people and dispose of the sailor girl for me."

"Yes, yes, ma'am." The card saluted Veneficus as she disappeared Sailor X could attack her. "Hey there! Pick a card." Four more cards fanned out from behind the first one. "Any card!"

The four extra cards spun like ninja stars and flew around Sailor X. She began running wildly around the room trying to dodge them. While she was distracted, the original card began to suck the energies out of the frozen store patrons.

Sailor X jumped behind a display and tried to catch her breath. "Why didn't Astra come with me! What do I do?" A moment later a one of the cards buzzed above her head, slicing the display in two and causing her to scream and run again. "HELP!"

As if on cue, something struck the cards and they stopped attacking. When Sailor X realized she was no longer being chased, she stopped and looked back at the cards, which had been speared by a sword and were slowly fizzling away. Looking up to a high window, she saw a shadowy figure. It remained for a minute and disappeared.

"What the?" Sailor X whispered to herself.

The original card noticed that it's duplicates had been defeated and turned back to Sailor X. "Oh ho! So some of my spawns are gone? Do you think I can't produce more?" Another four cards spanned behind it, then more and more, until Sailor X was surrounded by identical clones.

The cards spun around her, making her dizzy. "It'd be nice if sword guy stuck around!" She closed her eyes and held her head. "Oh God, I think I'm gonna barf…" Barely holding back her retching stomach, the hero tried to think of a way to defeat the monster. _Maybe if I get rid of the original…_

Suddenly standing, she cried out, "X Hidden Beam!" and blasted away half circle's worth of cards. She then repeated the attack on the other half until one stood alone. One more blast of her purple energy ray and there was a gaping hole in the card.

"Well…" it coughed when the dust and smoke had cleared. "that's gonna hurt in the morning."

"There won't be another morning for you!" Sailor X put forward her hand and her wand appeared again. "Secret Star Magic!"

The golden light of her attack shot out from the tip of the star and turned the card to dust after it screamed, "Encore!"

Sailor X stayed only long enough to make sure that the victims of the attack were alright. She then teleported once more to the backyard of her grandmother's home in New Jersey.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

When Sailor X transformed back to Kate, she immediately turned on her communicator to call Astra and tell her what had happened. The feline admitted that she probably should have come in with her to help seeing as this was only her second battle and apologized.

"Well, at least Sword Guy was there."

"Who?" Astra asked, puzzled. Kate explained about the mysterious man who had thrown the sword that saved her. Her guardian's eyebrows knit together. "I feel as though that is something familiar…However, I have no more memories so I cannot remember. Do you remember perchance?"

Kate thought hard but she couldn't come up with anything having to do with a swordsman in her life on Xena. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

When she had finished her talk with Astra, Kate wondered what she would tell her grandmother about where she disappeared to or how she had managed to return to the house. There was nothing that she could think of to cover up the escapade. Hoping that something would come to her, she knocked on the front door and waited. Seconds later the door opened. "Kate!" Her grandmother embraced her and brought her inside. "I was so worried about you!"

"I can explain...I think..." Kate began but Jane put a finger to her mouth.

"Kate, it's time we had a little talk. I know your secret." Kate's mouth fell open and she was about to deny it but her grandmother shook her head. "I've known all along, darling."

"But how?"

"I used to live with your mother until when you were brought to the apartment. I promised that if Astra didn't erase my memories that I would keep the secret. Kate, I have to tell you, I was once in your shoes exactly."

"What do you mean?" The older woman pulled out a star shaped locket from her pocket. The shining gold had faded from time but it still radiated strong energy. "I'm Sailor North Star. I had to protect the world too when I was just about your age. I was all alone, just like you are now. And I want you to know that I understand…And I'm always here for you."

"Grandma…Thank you!" Kate hugged her tightly and Jane placed the locket into her hands. She opened it and inside found a beautiful rainbow colored crystal.

"That's the Aurora Lights crystal, the source of my powers." She looked at the gem with a reminiscent glow in her eyes. The two sat in silence for a bit before Kate turned to her grandmother to give the locket back.

"You know what? I think I'm going to come and visit you and your mother for a while. Just in case you need a little extra help with this new threat. I haven't fought in so long, it'd be nice to get a little action."

"Really, Grandma? That would be amazing!" They hugged once again and her grandmother laughed happily.

Later, the two generations of Sailor soldiers packed to return together to New York City.


	7. Chapter 6

Hi everyone! Merry Christmas! :D Here's the second part of your three part present (one chapter of **Moon Guide** and two of this). Please review and let me know how this revision is going! :D Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer: **See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Lovely Lisa**

Lisa's bright green eyes fluttered open. It was the Tuesday after Columbus Day, and she groaned realizing that her lovely three-day weekend had come to an end. She turned to the clock on the night stand where the fluorescent red lights read 6:30 AM. "I miss sleeping late already," she mumbled to herself.

Lisa dragged herself into the shower and woke up to the soap running through her hair and down her whole body. She emerged from the bathroom wearing a terry-cloth robe and a towel in her hair. In her bedroom, her mother had laid out her clothes, nicely ironed, on her bed.

After dressing she looked to the clock again, this time reading 7:00 AM. Every morning the same routine but she didn't mind all that much. It was all she had ever known, all she could remember.

In fact, anything more than four years ago was unclear in her memories. When her parents would mention things that were even slightly before she turned twelve, she couldn't recall them. They were extremely faint or nonexistent.

Her family teased her for her bad memory but for whatever reason, only things within those past four years were crystal clear. She could remember the smallest details that other people would deem unnecessary. She sometimes wondered if there was another reason for her memory lapses...

"Good morning, dear," her mother greeted her when she walked into the kitchen. She gave her daughter a big smile then scurried off to grab the brown bag that she had prepared earlier for her.

"You're looking, how do you kids say it, hip and happening today, kiddo. You must be one of the …uh…grooviest chicks around, dawg." Yet again, Lisa's father had tried to be cool with his lingo. She had learned to ignore it but Kate and her always found it hysterical.

"Oh yeah, Dad, I'm sure everyone's going to want to copy my style after today." She sat down where there was already a plate of breakfast made for her. All her favorites: bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel with a chocolate chip muffin and a tall glass of milk. She always had such a big appetite. It sometimes freaked people out when she ate like a boy, but food was something she loved. She even learned to cook for herself at an early age so that she could eat whenever she needed to.

After gulping down her meal, Lisa picked up her lunch off the counter, grabbed her backpack, and kissed her parents goodbye. She was a little embarrassed of her parents and their strange ways but at the same time was grateful that they weren't like Kate's mother who's irresponsibility left her having to do a lot for herself.

In the elevator she met Kate and unfortunately Bebe. She scowled while her back was turned and Kate snickered. Eventually they reached the first floor and left the building to find the bus directly outside as it had been since the day of the attack on the school. Norman Thomas High School wasn't taking any chances with their students.

Sheldon was already in their usual seat and the two girls joined him.

"Good morning, ladies." he said as they sat.

"Morning, Shel," Lisa said.

"Good morning!" Kate said brightly. She seemed to be in a particularly good mood, beaming at nothing.

"What's up with you, Miss Sunshine?" Lisa asked her friend.

"My grandma's staying with me and my mom for a while. She said she wants to be where we are because things around here don't seem as safe as they once were. I probably shouldn't be that happy considering the circumstances but I love it when my grandma's around," Kate explained.

"Why should your grandma be worried about safety? Sailor X is protecting us!" Sheldon said. "She saved a bunch of people at Macy's!"

"Yeah, yeah, Sailor X." Lisa waved a hand dismissively. At first she hadn't believed that the girl had actually existed, but after seeing the actually security camera videos from store's attack that weekend, there was no doubt that she was real. "Sure she saved a bunch of people, but I don't see why you suddenly became obsessed with her."

"I am not obsessed! I'm just supportive of a true hero!" The boy crossed his arms in a huff.

"I agree. I think she's inspiring," Kate added. "Plus I hear she's related to Sailor North Star." The added giggle at the end of her sentence made Lisa a bit suspicious but she brushed it off.

"Whatever. She's not that great. Anything she could do, the cops could do better." The blond-streaked brunette shrugged and flopped back in the seat.

"What?" Kate blurted out causing half of the people on the bus turned to stare at her.

"What do you mean what? If the cops had gotten there first, they would have either killed that crazy chick or at least put her in jail. All _Sailor X _can do is make her stupid monsters disappear. She never attacks the source, so how will the problem ever be solved?"

"Ok, so I guess the fact that she saved your ass from possibly being sapped of all emotions but hatred means nothing to you?" Kate spat.

"God, Kate, what's up with you? When did you become her number one fan?"

"Since she was a good person and saved a bunch of people from being hurt! And in case you haven't noticed, that Veneficus can teleport so cops would never have a chance to even take a quick shot at her."

"Whatever, dude. If that's how you feel. I'm entitled to my own opinion and I think she's lame."

"Well, I don't want to hear it! And I don't want to hear you in general. I'm leaving." Kate stood and stormed to an empty seat towards the front more. Sheldon, who had been between the two girls during their argument, watched her go without saying anything, torn between which friend to speak to first.

Seeing as he was already with Lisa, he said to her, "Lis, you could see she was taking it hard. Why did you keep going?"

Another of Lisa's flaws was her habit of spitting out whatever was on her mind with no regard for anyone. Not even those she loved.

"I don't know…You know how my mouth runs sometimes." He nodded. "Well, what I don't understand is why she's letting it bother her so much. She can be so sensitive sometimes."

"But that's why you have to watch what you say sometimes. You have to learn that self-control," Sheldon explained.

"I'm…working on it." Lisa lied. Sheldon shook his head and got up to go and comfort his other best friend leaving Lisa to contemplate the issue on her own.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

There was a slight trepidation in Veneficus's heart as she made her way down the long, dark corridor. She could barely see as the only sliver of light came from the door at the very end which was slightly open. She concentrated on going straight and not hitting into the walls which were covered in throned vines.

Eventually she made it to the door and pushed it open fully. On the other side was the throne room of her master, Magnus. The dark queen herself sat upon a high chair that was lined with silver spikes. She kept her hood on as she always did in front of anyone. No one ever saw her face.

Veneficus gulped slightly at the sight of Magnus's…collection scattered around the room. Torture devices of every size, shape, and country of origin could be found in every corner. She could only guess how many she had used on her minions.

In a raspy whisper of a voice that could have once sounded regal, Magnus spoke, "Veneficus…" hissing out the last letter like a serpent.

She knelt before her master in fear and respect. "Yes, Madam?

"I do not have endless supplies of followers, Veneficus…You are one of six remaining members of my empire." Magnus tilted her head and Veneficus could feel her eyes boring into her even though she couldn't see them.

"Yes, Madam, I understand this."

"Then why, Veneficus, are you not succeeding in capturing the ingredient we need so that we can take control of Earth and I can rebuild my kingdom?" Magnus asked, her voice deathly calm.

"Madam, I must tell you, the princess of Xena now lives on that planet! She is still not extremely strong in battle, but she does manage to defeat my Frustros, therefore losing the precious energy." Bowing her head deeper, Veneficus hoped that Magnus would sympathize with her.

"There is…no excuse for such insolence. If you fail me again, Veneficus, you will find yourself smeared across my toys like jelly on toast. Is that quite clear to you?"

"Of course, Madam. Crystal." Veneficus was almost flat on the ground in a bow.

"Very well." Magnus waved her hand. "You are dismissed."

Veneficus stood and gave a final bow before backing out of the room. As soon as she was completely out of the throne room she turned and bolted down the corridor in the opposite direction from where she had come and flew into a door at the other end.

On the other side of the door was a sitting room with a few black leather sofas, occupied by the other five remaining from the old Empire.

"What did she say to you?" one asked as she sat on an arm rest.

"You're not gonna be on the job much longer, eh?" another giggled.

"Let's start drawing straws for who's gonna take over!" Others chimed in.

"Shut up, all of you!" Veneficus screamed but to no avail. She got up and stormed out of the room, not sure where to go first but knowing she had to get working on her next plan.

_I will not fail again. They'll see. I'll collect enough energy to take over the Earth by Christmas._

_**(.:SX:.)**_

For the rest of the day, Kate and Lisa didn't speak to each other. When they stepped off the bus together, the tension between them was extremely thick. Bebe happened to walk near them as they were entering the apartment building and being an expert in drama, could tell that things were not ok between the two friends.

When the three entered the elevator and the tense air was contained in the small space, it was even more obvious to Bebe. "Oooo, it looks like the dynamic duo has been fighting! How spectacular!" she laughed, flipping her hair. "This is so entertaining. For me! Go on, let's have a spat right here, and I'll grab some popcorn!"

"Oh shut it, Bebe!" both of the other girls shouted at the same time. They looked to one another when they realized that they had spoken in unison, but just as quickly turned away from each other and crossed their arms.

Bebe giggled again, the smirk on her face remaining for the rest of the ride. When they arrived at her floor, she looked at the pair in mock sadness. "Too bad I'm going to miss the rest of the show. I expect reruns!" She skipped out of the elevator and the doors closed.

After a moment's silence Lisa said, "I really don't understand why you're making such a big deal of nothing."

"Shouldn't the fact that it means something to me at all be enough for you not to run your mouth about it?" Kate asked.

"Like I said before, it's my opinion."

"That doesn't mean you have to insult me with it!" Kate cried, before smacking a hand over her mouth.

"What are you talking about, insult you?" But the long-haired brunette just shook her head and stayed silent. Lisa rolled her eyes and turned away, still confused about her friends attitude.

Her stop on the elevator was next and she exited into her hallway, went down to her door, and knocked. Her mother opened it and welcomed her in with a bright smile. A snack awaited her on the coffee table and she sat on the couch to watch some TV to try and get her mind off her friend. Unfortunately, she had no luck in that.

There was no reason that Kate should be so upset about Sailor X. Even Sheldon didn't feel so strongly when she had said what she did. There must have been some other reason. It couldn't be that she was…Then again, she wasn't in the room apparently when Sailor X had saved them. And she had talked about being insulted. It seemed to make sense, and yet at the same time she couldn't believe it.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and knew that she'd never understand what was going on unless she tried to talk calmly with her emotional friend. She called her and the answering machine picked up. "Kate…It's Lisa. I want to talk to you…I know you're not happy with me but I want to understand why. Don't keep something from me if it's bothering you…Well, call me back…"

Just as she was about to hang up the phone, there was a click and a hello. She smiled as Kate said, "How about some Juniors?"


	8. Chapter 7

Part three of my present to you! :D Please enjoy and review! Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Rising of Sun**

The girls met later in the evening and took the subway to the closest station to Junior's Cheesecake. The place was a favorite of the two and many memories, though now Kate realized some were fake, were made there. She thought it would be a good place for them to make up.

It had been bothering her all of that day that she couldn't tell her closest friend the truth about why she was so bothered about the Sailor X comments. But she realized that she had overreacted slightly, as she sometimes tended to. She resolved to deal with Lisa's opinion for the sake of their friendship, because there was no way she could share that secret with her.

When they arrived, Kate placed the order. "One chocolate mousse cheesecake, please." Their regular indulgence which they split to be a bit less fattening.

Kate turned around and sat back down at the table where Lisa was waiting. There was an awkward silence between them before both girls said at once, "I'm really sorry!" They laughed at this before Kate put up a hand, calling to speak first.

"Lisa, I was a bit over emotional. I guess it's my time of the month or something. But there was no reason for me to react that badly. You can feel however you want about Sailor X."

"No Kate, it's my fault. I could see that it was bothering you but I didn't stop. I have to learn when to shut up." Lisa giggled at herself. "But dude, can I ask you why you were so upset?"

Kate bit her lip at the question. She always hated lying, especially to her best friend, but this was necessary. Then again, Lisa had never betrayed her before. Why should she start now? Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to tell her. In fact, she almost had a feeling it would be a good thing.

"W-Well…The reason I-I took it to heart is because…" she trailed off, afraid of speaking about it in a public place where anyone could be listening.

"Come on, K, you can trust me. We're like sisters! I'd never tell if you didn't want me to." It was almost like Lisa already knew that it was supposed to be a secret. Had she guessed about the reasons behind her reaction?

A scream sounded from outside. Kate groaned and turned to the window to where she could see people running in random directions. Some, as they attempted escape, tripped and fell or were frozen in their places.

_Shit! It must be Veneficus. But how can I ditch Lisa?_

"What's going on?" Lisa asked as she too turned to watch the chaos ensuing.

"Lisa, I think we need to get out of here," Kate said, standing and putting a hand in her pocket to brush the brooch contained within.

"Wouldn't we be safer staying in here?"

"N-No, we have to leave!" She grabbed Lisa's wrist and dragged her outside into an alleyway. "Lisa go home! Run home and don't stop! Get somewhere safe and I'll see you later."

"Kate, I'm not going anywhere without you!" Lisa cried.

"Lisa-"

"NO! Why aren't you coming with me?"

Kate closed her eyes and curled one hand into a fist, thinking hard about what she should do. She couldn't waste time arguing with Lisa when there were people in danger. Finally, she let out all her breath in one gust and relaxed her shoulders. She had no choice if Lisa was going to be stubborn.

"Lisa…What I'm about to show you is the biggest secret I've ever shared with anyone. If you _ever_ compromise it, I will allow Magnus to capture and kill you." She pulled the brooch from her pocket and Lisa's green eyes widened.

"I-Is that-Kate, you're not-Oh no…"

"Oh yes." The brunette soldier lifted her hand into the air and spoke her transformation phrase. "X Crystal Power, Make up!" Her transformation overtook her and soon she was standing in front of Lisa as the purple clad Sailor soldier of Xena.

"Oh…My…GOD!"

"There's no time for you to be in shock," Sailor X said. "I have a battle to fight so you either have to stay here completely hidden or find a way home, got it?"

"Y-Yeah…" Lisa crouched behind a garbage can and Sailor X turned to run out of the alley. Before she could get out, there was a shout of, "Ka-Sailor X!"

"Yes?"

"I'm…really sorry. Kick some ass, baby!"

Sailor X smiled at her friend and nodded.

"Veneficus!" Sailor X called when she was out on the street again.

"Oh, you again?" The evil blond looked down from her lofty position on top of a street light. She had already called out her Frustro and it was attacking the innocent pedestrians.

"People walking down a New York City street may expect some strange things, but this is ridiculous. Representing the distant planet of Xena, I am Sailor X! I fight for honor, truth, and love! And in the name of my guardian deity, you're going down!"

"Ooh, so scary as usual. I guess I'll leave then. Boxsaw, dear, get the nasty little bug for me please." Veneficus then disappeared from site. Based on her past two experiences with monsters, Sailor X didn't like the sound of the name Boxsaw.

Two small cubes flew toward Sailor X. They came together to form a rectangular prism. Limbs and a head sprouted from within. "A bug, my master says? Not a problem for me. I'll chop you up into tiny pieces!"

"Perfect," Sailor X said to herself. The limbs of the creature retracted and suddenly swords started flying from the open holes, chasing the soldier around the road. She dodged the people who were still frozen or otherwise immobilized and ducked around cars that were blocking up most of the street. Swords shot through windows causing broken glass to rain around her.

She couldn't go on any longer at one point and dove behind a car to pause and catch her breath. Suddenly, there were running footsteps approaching her and the next thing she knew, someone stood in front of her with a garbage can lid shield. She recognized her friends legs.

"Lisa! I told you to hide! What are you doing?" Sailor X cried.

"Saving your life!" Lisa shouted back. The blades miraculously couldn't penetrate the steel lid, but Sailor X knew that if she didn't do something, one of them was going to become a shish-kabob.

As she looked up to find a good escape route, she saw the figure of her friend against the setting sun. The stance suddenly triggered a flash of memory from her life on Xena. She could remember a younger version of Lisa standing over her in a similar fashion and holding a staff in front of her and practicing conjuring a shield.

"S-Sailor Sun!"

"What?" Lisa asked, not as if she hadn't heard her, but as if she were answering a call.

Before Sailor X could say any more, one of the swords managed to go around the shield and pierce Lisa in the arm. The brunette dropped to her knees with a hiss of pain.

"Lisa!" The barrage of swords no longer held back began flying full force at the two. More instinctively than anything, Sailor X cried, "X Mysterious Wind!" The blades were blown into a nearby building by a strong purple wind coming from Sailor X's mouth. For a moment she marveled at her new power then turned her attention elsewhere when she heard her name being called.

"Sailor X!" Astra called from across the street. She ran up to her and said, "I came as fast as I could. Where's the monster?"

"I'm not sure. But Astra, Lisa is Sailor Sun!"

"What?"

"WHAT?" her friend cried. "Whoa, whoa, wait a second. That cat of yours talked! And what's this about me being who now?"

"There's no time to explain right now! You need to transform if you really are one of the lost Sailor soldiers. Catch!" Astra back flipped and a locket in the shape of a sunburst appeared. It fell into Lisa's open hands and without hesitation, she suddenly called out,

"Sun Crystal Power, Make up!"

After a burst of orange light dissipated, a new Sailor soldier stood in place of Lisa. Her skirt, collar, and the rims of her gloves were a bright yellow while her boots and bows were a light orange. Sunburst earrings dangled from her lobes and a topaz jewel was encrusted in her tiara. The new locket had grown a long silver handle, which Sailor Sun grabbed tightly.

"The hell?" Sun looked herself over. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Li- I mean Sailor Sun, we don't have time for you to get over the shock! We've got some serious ass-kicking to do here!"

"Huh? Oh, right...Um..." Sailor X watched as her friend tried to concentrate. She held her staff up to the sky so as to absorb the sunlight. "Extreme Meltdown!" she shouted and a sun beam shot out from the top of her staff. It hit Boxsaw straight on and blasted him into a wall.

"Nice shot!" Sailor X said and the high fived.

"That was actually pretty fun! I think I could get used to-Look out!" She pointed to where Boxsaw was recovering itself.

"Let's finish him off!" Sailor X's wand appeared in front of her. "Secret Star Magic!"

"Well I kind of _saw_ this coming! Encore!" shouted Boxsaw while it disintegrated.

When there was nothing left but a pile of dust, the two girls embraced and jumped for joy. "This is awesome! I can't believe my best friend was actually one of my real best friends!"

"What are you talking about?" Lisa asked as the two changed back to normal. She looked to Astra who was trotting up to them.

"I have some things to show you."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Knowing that she had failed once again, Veneficus was counting the seconds until her demise. She knew it was coming, she knew that the moment she entered the door to the throne room that she would have only a few breaths left before the end. In retrospect, she had realized that perhaps it wasn't such a noble position to terrorize the people of a planet. Perhaps she would be forgiven in the afterlife if she repented in her head during these last few moments.

Something told her that her chances were slim.

With a pounding heart and shaking limbs, the woman entered the chamber of her master. "Madam..." she whispered, bowing low.

"Veneficus...I warned you about failure, my dear..." Magnus's voice was little more than a hiss.

"Yes, Madam...I know and understand that I have not live up to your expectations. I apologize." She kept her head down for fear of what she might see if she gazed upon her queen.

"Then you know what I must do?" Magnus asked and with a deep breath and a gulp, Veneficus nodded stiffly.

A wave of Magnus's hand had Veneficus being pulled by an invisible force towards the evil leader's 'collection'. Veneficus only hoped that it would be over quickly, but upon glancing at the pile of torture devices she approached, she knew it would be a while before she'd finally be at peace.

It was countless moments later that a final ear-piercing scream signaled that the deed had been completed. Magnus's mouth curled into a vile smile.

With a snap of her fingers, someone new walked into the room and bowed. "You can take over from here?" the dark lady asked.

"Of course, Madam. With every fiber of my being I will do my best to never let you down."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

The gold light from Astra's star faded and Lisa sat with a saddened look on her face having just re-witnessed her repressed memories. She opened her eyes and looked from Kate to Astra and back again. "All of that…really happened?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Astra replied.

Lisa nodded solemnly, then looked over to her best friend. "I'm sorry Kate about…what I said before. I had no idea. To think that I was such a part of it, and yet I was such a jerk."

"It's ok, Lisa. At least now we have each other. Now we both have people who understand." Kate held open her arms and Lisa leaned in for a hug.

Astra smiled before she back flipped. A communicator watch fell into Lisa's lap, the same design as Kate's but in a yellow and orange theme. "Make sure you always wear it and never leave home without your locket."

"Right-o, Astra." Lisa giggled. "Wow, I'm talking to a cat."

"You'll get used to it," Kate said.

Astra nodded. "There are still two other soldiers out there, girls. As I've told Kate, I don't remember anything about who they are. If you can remember anything at all then it would really benefit us. Only when all four of you are united can you defeat Magnus and her empire."

"I wonder who the other two are..." Kate trailed off.

"I don't remember anything. At least, not right now. Maybe if I saw them again…" Lisa said.

"I could always do a little more research to pinpoint our last two soldiers. Their names are Nova and Comet, just to jog your brains a bit." At the mention of these two names, ice blue and deep red popped into Kate's mind. "Then there's also…"

"Who?" Kate asked.

"Just the last person who came with us. Not a Sailor soldier, obviously, but an important person nonetheless."

"Whoever they are, we'll find them," Kate said with determination.

"Right," Lisa agreed. "Soon our team will be back together again. And we'll avenge our planet!"


	9. Chapter 8

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a while but I've been focusing on **ASN** lately and it's midterm time T_T Don't you hate stupid midterm tests? Why can't we just go without them?

Anyway, there's nothing that can be done about it. But at least I'm here with this newly revised chapter! I like the way I fixed this one. The battle scene was pretty short and I made it much longer. I never realized how little emphasis I put on the battles in the past. I must learn not to do this with future Sailor Moon stories.

So, as always I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave reviews and I will talk to you soon! Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 8: Mysterious Mia**

Blissful happiness, beautiful scenery, soft music, as the two swayed back and forth gently. It was absolute perfection, everything that she had ever wished for. "Oh, Sheldon, I have been waiting forever for this day to come!" Kate looked deep into the amber eyes of her partner. Smiling back he put a finger to her lips.

"Katherine, my dear, let us not speak. Let us seal this moment with a kiss." The couple closed their eyes and slowly leaned their faces closer to one another, waiting to feel the gentle touch of the other's lips.

Suddenly, Sheldon pulled back and looked at her strangely. "Kate? Kate!" He began to shake her and the fantasy scene faded as she returned to reality. Groggily, Kate looked to see who was responsible for destroying her dream.

"Wha? Lisa?" But why was Lisa in her bedroom. Unless! "Gah, I must have fallen asleep!" Kate gasped.

"Oh, is that so, Ms. Astrum?" A new voice spoke this time. Kate lifted her head completely and came face to face with an angry man.

"Mr. Slandent! I can explain!" Kate quickly tried to think of a cover, but nothing came to mind. She obviously couldn't tell him the real reason: that she, Lisa, and her grandmother had been out late the night before fighting a new minion from Magnus.

"Save it for the other delinquents in detention." Mr. Slandent took a pad from his pocket and a pen from behind his ear and wrote up a detention slip. He handed the little piece of paper to Kate. "Now get back to work."

Grumbling at Lisa for not having woken her sooner, Kate returned to the math problems she had been solving.

At the end of the day, Lisa was accompanying Kate to her locker before they had to part ways. "I can't believe I got detention!" the latter complained. "What if you-know-who attacks again?"

"First of all, I think we need to come up with a better way to refer for Magnus and company. Otherwise people will think we're referencing Harry Potter or something. And don't worry about it," Lisa replied, her laid-back attitude coming through. "I can handle it."

"Well, I can't let this happen aga-" Kate stopped mid-sentence and her already open jaw dropped further. A little way down the hall she had spotted Sheldon hugging another girl. A burgundy-eyed girl with long violet hair. Not that the details really mattered. All that mattered to Kate was that she was hugging Sheldon.

After a moment, Lisa pushed Kate's chin back into place and looked in the same direction. "Oh! I see what your problem is. You know, I've never seen her before. She must be new."

"I don't care what she is! No one is going to get to Sheldon before I do!" Just then, said boy walked over and greeted his two friends. Then he turned back to the mystery girl and waved goodbye. "How are you guys today?"

"Fine! Just fine!" Kate said irritably. "Who was that with you?"

"Oh, that was just Mia, my-"

"Oh, Mia's her name is it? Lovely, just lovely!" Kate shouted before turning to storm off in the other direction.

Bewildered, Sheldon turned to Lisa. "What's her problem?"

"She's just...steamed because she got a detention from Slandent," Lisa replied.

Turning back, Kate said, "That's not why! I'm completely and totally fine with detention! Now if you'll both excuse me I have to get to detention before I get a detention for being late TO DETENTION! Goodbye!" Kate continued her raging walk while Lisa and Sheldon looked to each other and sighed shaking their heads.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

All that week, Kate kept a close eye on Mia and Sheldon. She wanted to make sure the new girl was no more of a friend to him than she was. Lisa continually told her that she was going overboard with her stalking techniques, but Kate felt she was entirely in the right.

"After all, I've been friends with him for much longer. They just met the other day! If anyone deserves a chance with him, it's me."

"Kate," Lisa repeated again. "It's not really up to you who he dates. It's his choice! It's not like you're actually together and think he's cheating. And I'm sure they're_ just friends_. All they've ever done is hug!"

"But don't you see the way she looks at him? There's something bad about her, I just know it. She acts so innocent but I can feel the vibes of a stronger power underlying. Maybe she's a new enemy in disguise." Kate would find any reason to dislike her.

"Oh, Lord!" Exasperated, Lisa decided to give up for the day.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

_Sheldon's apartment. Earlier in the week_

Sheldon unlocked the door and opened it, gesturing for the girl to enter before him.

"Wow, Sheldon, this is really nice. You live here on your own?" Mia asked, surprised that the young teen could handle himself in the big city alone.

"It's not much," Sheldon shrugged. "I've been living frugally seeing as the money from Dad is almost gone. I might have to start selling stuff if I want to stay here."

"Sheldon…Maybe I shouldn't stay with you after all. I mean, I'd just be costing you extra and-"

"Mia." Sheldon grabbed her by the shoulders and started directly into her eyes with a stern expresseion. "I'll be fine. You need someone and I'm all you have. I'm not going to let my own troubles get in the way of helping you."

Her burgundy eyes welled and she nodded.

Sheldon's face softened and he smiled. "Come on. I'll show you your room."

He led her into the hallway to where two rooms were directly across the hall from one another. He pointed to the one on their left. "This is my room, so the one over here is your room. If you need anything then you can just knock on my door."

"Thank you so much, Shel." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and Sheldon smiled before he went back to the living room. Mia decided to settle in and unpack her bags. When she felt comfortable, she changed into pajamas and laid down on the bed.

She took in the little spare room. There wasn't much other than the bed, dresser, and a shelf with some books on it. She guessed that this used to be Sheldon's room before his mother left and his father died.

It had been only a few months before when the latter occurred. At that point, her own mother had offered to take him in but Sheldon was determined to stay in New York with the money left to him by his father.

She reflected on how they were now in similar situations. Glancing at the photo of her and her mother that she had placed on the dresser, she felt tears arise in her eyes again. "I promise, Mom, I'll do whatever it takes to save you."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

"Let's see what the lovebirds are doing today."

"Kate, please! Can't you just give up? At least during lunch!" Lisa begged. Kate did not answer. Her eyes were fixed on Mia and Sheldon who were just walking in the cafeteria doors. Lisa glanced over as well and noticed them coming in the direction of their table. "Looks like you got your wish. You'll be able to get a perfect view on what they're doing. They're coming this way." Lisa was actually somewhat happy about this because it meant that Kate couldn't say anything outlaid about her suspicions.

Kate quickly fixed herself to look as if she had been eating the whole time. When Mia and Sheldon finally made it over to their table, they were laughing and smiling which made Kate's envy boil in the pit of her stomach.

As they sat, Mia became quieter. Sheldon greeted his friends with a big, "Hey gals!"

"Hey," Kate and Lisa replied together.

"You guys know my-"

"Yes, we know Mia." Kate was quick to cut off the words she dreaded to hear. If she actually heard the word 'girlfriend', she was sure it would be the end for her. But as long as it wasn't officially stated, she could pretend that it wasn't true.

"So, Mia. We haven't really gotten a chance to talk to each other," Lisa said, humoring her best friend by trying to get some information out of the new girl. "What brings you here to NYC?"

At this, Mia's face became solemn and she cast her eyes downward. Kate, who was readily to internally scoff at her reaction, could read the sincerity of the sadness in her eyes.

"Well…" Mia started. Her voice was quiet and shy, nothing like how she appeared when Kate saw her alone with Sheldon. "My mother recently went missing. I had nowhere else to go so Sheldon took me in."

A pang of guilt struck Kate's heart. She felt horrible for all the assumptions she made about Mia, and almost didn't mind the idea of her dating Sheldon. She made eye contact with her and smiled warmly for the first time in days.

"You're really lucky to have someone like him. And I'm sorry about what happened." Kate reached out a hand and put it on the other girl's.

Suddenly, she felt a jolt and jerked her hand back. Mia seemed to feel the same and reacted as well. The two looked at each other as if seeing for the first time.

"What happened?" Lisa asked.

"Are you two ok?" Sheldon asked.

Kate felt all the suspicion return to her as she recognized the feeling of power lying beneath the surface of the calm and shy Mia. Yet at the same time, she didn't feel that she was a threat of any kind.

"Mia, are you-" Kate couldn't finish her sentence because a scream sounded outside. In the next second, an explosion busted through the wall of the cafeteria.

Students were suddenly screaming and running in every direction. Debris from the destroyed wall flew across the room and smoke clouded over them.

"Kate!" Lisa coughed. "We have to get out of here!"

"I know!" she choked back. "Sheldon? Mia?" she called out to the other two but there was no answer and she assumed that they had run away in fear. "The coast is clear! Let's go before the smoke clears out. X Crystal Power, Make up!"

"Sun Crystal Power, Make up!"

When everything was clear the majority of the students were frozen in their places. A figured approached through the hole in the wall, followed behind by a giant ring.

"Why hello, Sailor girls. I figured you'd be here. I've heard so much about you." As it got closer, the two could tell it was a man. He wore long black robes glittered with silver sparkles. His eyes were such an ice blue they almost looked white. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sorciero." He bowed with a flourish, his shoulder-length blue hair following his motion.

"Sorciero?" Sailor X repeated, confused. "What is Veneficus too chicken to come back and face us anymore?"

"I don't think you want to know where Veneficus is right now." Sorciero smirked. "Now that I am in her place, it doesn't matter anyway. It's my task to dispose of you so that I may complete my Madam's bidding." He snapped his fingers and the ring behind him spread into three.

"Master, I'm ready to squeeze the happiness out of these humans!" the rings spoke. The sound seemed to come out of the open center of the original.

"Excellent, my Frustro. You know your task and so I shall leave you to your work." Sorciero spread his arm out causing his robes to open and reveal a blue bodysuit. "Tata, Sailor girls." He swept the robe back in and swirled, disappearing from sight.

"Coward!" Sun shouted after him. "One of these days I'll kill one of them before they can get away!"

"I think we should focus on now, Sailor Sun! Look out!" Sailor X cried. The rings were hovering above them and were descending fast.

"Split up!" Sailor X and Sun ran in opposite directions to escape the rings.

"Silly girls. You can split up, and so can we!" The rings detached from each other and sped after the Sailor soldiers.

"Stupid magic tricks!" Sailor X panted. She turned and started to run backwards. "X Hidden-Whoa!" She tripped over one of the frozen students and fell, allowing the ring to catch up to her and trap her.

"Hold on X! Ozone Shield!" Sun spread the shield over herself so that the ring couldn't get to her. She ran past a window holding her staff up to try to absorb some sunlight for extra power. However, the sky was obscured by clouds. "Damn weather! I can't attack the rings and keep the shield up at the same time without the sun!"

"Just…try…something!" Sailor X wheezed. The ring around her was tightening slowly but surely, cutting off her ability to breath.

Sun ran over as fast as she could, let the shield down and cried out, "Extreme Meltdown!" Midway through her attack she was captured by the ring and her aim was thrown off, missing Sailor X by inches.

The third ring enclosed both of them and squeezed them together. They continued to contract until their vision started to cloud over and their lungs felt as though they were on fire from lack of air.

Just as it seemed like the end, the pressure around them released and they fell to the floor coughing. The rings lay next to them on the floor, split on the sides. The pieces floated to one another and reattached as one large ring.

"How could this be? There's no way my skin could be pierced!" the bodiless voice of the ring spoke out. It turned looking for its attacker. Sailor X and Sun also looked.

By the main door of the cafeteria, a shadowed figure stood. Sailor X recognized the silhouette as the same one that saved her in Macys. "It's…you!" she said in between trying to catch her breath.

"Sailor X," the strange figure said. "Don't ever worry. I will always be ready to help you when the time comes."

"Who are you?" Sun asked. "Who is that?" She turned to Sailor X. "Why didn't you tell me about that guy?"

"Another day, Sailor Sun. Now fight!" The shadow disappeared.

"He's right, Sun!" Sailor X said staggering to get up. "Let's double team!"

"Good call! Uh, do we have a double team attack?"

"Yes!" a new voice called out. Astra jumped through the hole in the wall and scampered over to the two girls. "It was something we were never able to teach you on Xena. You have the ability to combine your attacks and make an even more powerful attack. Take hands and shout 'Double Team Power Up!'"

Sailor X and Sun did as they were told and immediately they felt new words forming in their mouths. In unison they called out, "Extreme Hidden Melting Beam!" The new and more powerful blast came out of the top of Sun's staff and shot straight at the ring.

An ear splitting scream came from the center of the ring and it melted into a pile of molten goo. "Alright!" Sun exclaimed. "That was awesome! Looks like you're up buddy."

"Thanks buddy. Star Secret Magic!"

The light from Sailor X's wand washed over the ring, which shouted, "Encore!" and was reduced to nothing.

"Excellent work!" Astra said. "You two are very well in sync. You're progressing faster than I expected."

"That's all fine and good. But look at this destruction! We're going to lose another week of school for sure!" Sailor Sun said, jumping for joy.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Once again, the school had an emergency evacuation and the students and staff were sent home early. On the bus home, Kate, Sheldon, and Lisa were sitting in the back as per their usual.

"Sailor X was there again!" Sheldon said in excitement.

"What about Sailor Sun?" Lisa said, sounding a bit more offended than she should have let on.

"Who?" he asked.

"Oh forget it."

Kate, still feeling guilty about everything that happened with Mia, turned to Sheldon said, "Look, Sheldon, I'm sorry for being all jealous of Mia. I guess I should be happy about what you guys have."

"You were jealous?" he tilted his head to the side.

"Well, you two are a couple, right? You guys spend so much time together and I always see you hugging in the hall. And it made me jealous because I like-…I mean, I _don't_ like the idea of you spending all your time with a girl and forgetting you friends."

There was a silent pause in which Sheldon and Kate stared at each other, the latter waiting for him to scold her for her actions, the former confused.

Suddenly Sheldon burst out laughing. "What? It's not funny!" Kate said.

"Oh, it's hilarious!" Sheldon chuckled, wiping his eyes. "Kate. Mia and I have about as much chance of dating as you and Bebe becoming best friends."

Now it was Kate and Lisa's turns to look confused. He shook his head smiling, answering the questions in their eyes. "Mia and I are cousins!"

Lisa facepalmed. Kate started to redden as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. It all made sense in the end now that she knew they were cousins. "I…feel like the biggest idiot."

"It's like I always say," Lisa said. "When you assume you make an a-"

Sheldon quickly covered her mouth. "Watch what you say, Lisa. There could be children reading this."


	10. Chapter 9

OMG I'M SORRY SORRY SORRY! If you saw the update for **The Moon that Guides Them** you may have already seen an apology from me but I want to do it again because I still feel really bad! It's been so long since I updated! I just lost so much time with work and school and everything else I have to do, and with lack of motivation and UGH! I feel like I've failed you guys. T_T I didn't want to leave you hanging like I've done before, but I did. :( I hope you can forgive me, and I promise you, it's not going to happen again. At least, not this bad.

Anyway, I hope you still like the chapter even though it's super late. Please review if you want and enjoy and I love you and I promise not to do it again! I solemnly swear!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 9: Silver Knights and Gold Pens**

Astra flicked the remote with her tail and the TV turned off. She turned to Lisa and Kate to find the former's eyes wide in amazement.

"I don't believe it…I was on the news!" Lisa was thrilled. Fox had just finished a segment about the second attack on Norman Thomas and mentioned Sailor Sun's appearance.

From the extra bedroom, Jane walked out and came to stand behind the couch where the two girls and Astra were sitting. "So, I just saw you two on the tele in the other room. Enjoying the spotlight, Lisa?" she asked.

"It's alright. Oh who am I kidding. It's amazing! We're famous!" Kate and her grandmother giggled at Lisa's enthusiasm.

"Now girls," Jane started when her laughter died down. "Since you're in the eye of the media, you have to watch out. Never change back unless you know you're completely safe from prying eyes. It's very dangerous to reveal one's identity."

"Yeah, yeah, cool it Granny. We've got it under control." Lisa laid back and kicked her feet up onto the coffee table.

"Excuse me? Granny?" Jane's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the girl's easygoing attitude and lack of respect.

"You should watch what you say to Grandma," Kate warned in a low voice. "She can have a mean temper sometimes."

"Meh, whatever," Lisa replied.

It almost seemed like Kate could see steam start to hiss out of her grandmother's ears. She silently hoped that Lisa would learn to filter what came out of her mouth if she chose to speak again.

Suddenly the phone rang and Kate found this as good an excuse as any to get Jane's mind off of her friend. "Hey, Grandma, why don't you go answer the phone."

Reluctantly her grandmother made her way over to the phone and answered. "Hello?" unfortunately, it seemed to only make matters worse. "I BEG YOUR PARDON! Who is this?"

"Grandma, give me the phone!" Kate grabbed the receiver out of her hand before she could crush it in anger. "Hello? Whoever this is, you're making a big mistake!"

"Yeah, tell me about it," a familiar voice answered.

"_Bebe_?" Kate said with astonishment.

"WHAT?" Lisa cried out in the background almost falling off the couch.

"Shush! What's this all about Bebe?" Kate asked suspiciously.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this, but I have no choice so I'm just going to get it over with. I'm inviting you to my party this weekend." Bebe sounded disgusted with herself.

"Why?"

"Because I want Sheldon to come and he said he wouldn't unless you and Lisa were invited." Bebe was silent for a moment. "Well, are you going to accept or not? Technically you don't have to because as long as I _invite_ you I'm doing what he asked. If you don't want to come just tell him that I talked to you."

"Hang on a sec." Kate put the receiver down and went back to Lisa. "She wants us to come to a party so that Sheldon will go. What do you think?"

"HELL NO! We hate her remember? Tell her to go die!" Lisa crossed her arms over her chest.

"But her parties are famous school-wide! There's supposedly amazing catering, and dancing, and all the hottest guys go. Who cares if we hate Bebe? That's not why we'd be going!"

"But do you really want _Sheldon_ to go? She'll be all over him! You know that she's had her heart set on him for months." Kate's heart plummeted at the thought of Bebe trying to flirt with Sheldon or try make serious moves on him.

"You're right. I'll tell her that we're busy." Kate returned to the phone and picked it up. "Bebe? Sorry but Lisa and I have plans. But thanks for the invite."

"Whatever. Just tell Sheldon that I actually tried ok? Now at least I won't have to find ways to un-dorkify the party." There was a click and she was gone.

"That girl is a spoiled brat," Jane said shaking her head. "Youth today. Why if she were my granddaughter I'd give her what for. Katherine you better never turn out to be like her. Understand?"

"Yes, Grandma." She rolled her eyes.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

"Magnus, I must apologize. The combination of those two sailor girls and their mystery friend is very difficult to beat." Sorciero rehearsed the line again and again in the mirror to make sure that he made no mistakes in front of his queen. Shadowy figures then joined him from behind.

"You think she'll believe that?" one said.

"He does have a slightly better chance at survival than Veneficus, though," another spoke.

"I doubt he'll come back," another one continued.

"Hmph. Unlike all of you, I _volunteered_ to take that failure's place. Magnus thinks quite highly of me, and with good reason. I may have had a setback but it will not happen again. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with Madam." Sorciero lifted his head high and left the room to a chorus of giggles.

However, as he walked down the corridor to Magnus's throne room, he felt some nervousness well up inside of him. Much as he wished that he could say he was fearless, it was hard to not be afraid of the all powerful queen.

Sheepishly he opened the door and stepped inside, bowing low. "M-adam, I must apolo-"

"I'll take no excuses, Sorciero!" she hissed from her throne. "You must defeat those girls no matter the cost."

"But it is not just them, Madam! They have this mystery man who somehow saves them before they have a chance to be vanquished! I witnessed it with my last Frustro, for it almost had them." He wrung his hands hoping he had not stepped out of his boundaries with his argument.

"This friend of theirs is easily taken care of. Simply discover his identity and you may eliminate him easily. But he is not your prime target. Stop at nothing to defeat those idiot soldiers and continue to bring me those positive energies. Soon I will have enough for the antidote."

"Yes, Madam," Sorciero said, bowing lower. He stood and backed out of the room.

Instead of returning to the other room to be continually mocked by the others, he teleported to Earth to try and get an idea of where to attack next. He appeared in Central Park and took a seat on a bench, assuming his casual appearance. There were plenty of perfect victims for him right here. But he knew that the Sailor soldiers would be on him within minutes of his first attack.

"Those stupid Sailor girls always seem to find me, even before the media is upon me. But perhaps that's because these are public places…I need a private area where there will be many people to attack." Just then a piece of paper flew into his face on the wind. "Dammit! What is this?" He took it and looked at the print on the front. "Party? At the Webster Apartments? Bring all your friends…Well, Miss Bebe, whoever you are, you have just helped me greatly."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate wondered what it would have been like for a teenaged girl on Xena. She thought that she would probably would have died if they didn't have malls. For as long as she remembered, in her Earth life that is, shopping had always been a favorite pastime. The atmosphere of the mall put her in her best spirits, and buying things gave her a natural high.

She and Lisa had decided to invite Mia on their excursion to get to know her better. Kate had mixed feelings of guilt and curiosity for her crush's cousin. She thought perhaps the latter would be satisfied if they became closer.

The three girls hit every store from Abercrombie to Zales, their trip lasting until late evening. By the end were exhausted and famished. They stopped at the food court to grab a bite before catching the bus.

"So, Mia. Tell us more about yourself," Lisa said when she was settled in with her burger and large fry.

"Yeah, where do you come from anyway? What's your story?" Kate continued, more hungry to learn something important than for the chicken wrap she had bought.

"Originally I'm from around here, but I grew up in Illinois," Mia said. "My mom and Sheldon's dad were brother and sister and they were sharing an apartment for a while before Sheldon's mom left. My mom moved out to Illinois when I was really little. She was engaged to my biological father and that was where he wanted to live. But she found out that he was cheating on her, and with Sheldon's mother, no less. He had thought that being away from her would make him forget about her but apparently not. The two of them ran away to California or something, never to be seen or heard from again. Mom decided that it would be cheaper to live as a single parent out in Illinois and we've been there ever since.

"When Sheldon's dad died, we offered to take him in but Sheldon didn't want to leave. Grandma and Grandpa give him chunks of what his dad left him so he can survive on his own, even though he's young. But he's always been really mature for his age, and they check up on him from time to time to see how he's doing. Mom tended to think it was a bad idea though, and one day she decided to go and get him and bring him home. But..."

"That's when she went missing?" Kate asked quietly.

Mia's eyes watered and she cast them downwards.

"Mia...I'm so sorry." Both girls put their hands on top of hers and she smiled slightly.

"Thank you. You're really nice. I thought you didn't like me at first and I felt awful because you were mad at Sheldon too. It's such a relief to be friends with you."

This only increased Kate's guilt for acting how she had. She decided that instead of actively pursuing the secrets of Mia's heart, should would instead let them come to her if the time to learn them appeared.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate and Lisa thought that this Saturday would be just another normal one like all the rest. The two were sitting on Kate's couch, a full bowl of popcorn in front of them, tall glasses of soda, and a bowl of M&Ms. They had rented the latest new releases and were ready to spend the night watching movies and forgetting about the fact that a few floors below there was a party going on.

"Who needs to hang around with a bunch of idiots who're probably drinking until they barf?" Lisa said and they high-fived.

Astra hopped up onto the sofa as well. "Nice to spend the night at home, isn't it girls?"

"Yup! No school because of the attacks, no homework because there's no school, and no battles," Kate said. "This is gonna be-"

There was a sudden crash coming from a floor below and the sound of movement and loud voices. Kate and Lisa groaned in unison. "They're gonna be making all kinds of noise all night! Can't we complain to the manager or something?"

"You know what? We should!"

"I'll talk to him." Jane walked into the room. "I'm surprised he hasn't already gone up there with all the ruckus. I will be right back." She marched out of the room determinedly.

"You know, your grandma is pretty awesome. She doesn't fool around," Lisa commented. "I like her."

"I'm sure she'd like you too once you cleaned up your attitude," Kate said.

Just then the door burst open again. "Girls, we have a problem!" Jane said, and the two saw that she was already transformed into North Star.

"What's going on?" Astra said, jumping down as Kate and Lisa stood.

"Sorciero is attacking Bebe's party! We need to get down there now!"

"Aww, can't we just let him attack?" Lisa said. The other three in the room gave her a deadpan stare. "Ok, ok. Let's go…Sun Crystal Power, Make up!"

"X Crystal Power, Make up!"

After the two transformed, they sprinted out of the room and down the stairs. They realized as they came closer that there was no longer a commotion, which worried them that they might be too late. When they arrived, they found the door was blasted through and there were teenagers all over the floor.

North Star put a hand up for the two younger soldiers to stay back. She cautiously stepped through and examined some of the bodies on the floor. To her relief they were still breathing and their hearts were beating. She then motioned for Sailor X and Sun to come in also.

"He may still be here, so be very careful," North Star whispered, almost inaudibly. They split up and tiptoed through the apartment. Sailor X went to the kitchen, while her grandmother and Sun went down the hallway.

Sailor X tried not to make a sound as she stepped onto the tile with her heels. Everything looked clear and she was about to leave when she stepped on a piece of a plate that must have been dropped and broken in the attack. There was a cracking sound and she froze in her tracks, waiting for Sorciero to pop out and grab her.

Nothing.

After a few moments of dead silence, she thought it was safe to move and turned back towards where she had come, abruptly finding herself face-to-face with Sorciero.

"So, you managed to find my whereabouts still, even though we were in a private building." Sailor X tried to jump back and collided with someone else. She turned her head and found that a shadowy black figure had her trapped. It grabbed her by the arms and lifted her off the floor. "I can't have you interfering with me anymore. It's time to say goodbye."

"X Hidden Be-mph!" The figure holding her in place somehow produced an extra hand to cover her mouth.

"Ah-ah-ah, I don't think so." Sorciero wagged his finger. "Levitator, as we had planned."

"Yes, Master." Levitator floated with Sailor X as she continued to struggle, screaming against the hand. She tried to bite it but it seemed to have no effect. It brought her over to the window and Sorciero opened it. Levitator released Sailor X, but trapped her in a bubble which he floated outside so that she was able to see the street below…far below.

As soon as she was able to move and speak again, Sailor X fired her attacks at the bubble, but found it to be indestructible. "Sun! North Star! Help!" she cried, but it seemed as though it were sound-proof as well.

"Hahahaha, they'll be my next victims of course. Thank you for letting me know that they are here. That kills three brats with one Frustro. I must say, you made a good try, but unfortunately, you have fallen to the greatest of Magnus's followers. And thus, I must now say…so long."

Sorciero snapped and the bubble was popped, leaving Sailor X to scream as she plummeted to the ground below. As she fell, she felt something hit her from the side and her head seemed to clang against metal. Her eyes were already closed, but things went even more black as she went unconscious.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Warm. She felt very warm, as if someone was filling her from her heart. She wasn't sure where she was and didn't remember much of what had just happened. Opening her eyes, she found that she was floating in a swirling night sky of sparkling stars. "Where…?"

"Sailor X?" a male voice spoke from nowhere. The voice had a strange accent that was unfamiliar to her.

"What? Who's there?" She looked around everywhere but found nothing but stars. "What's going on?"

"So it is you. I've been told about you, how powerful you are, even at such a young age."

"Who would be telling someone anything about me? I want to know what's going on! And where am I anyway?" Sailor X was beginning to feel very uneasy with this floating sensation and she wanted to get back to Earth.

"You're nowhere really. This is sort of my projection so that I could reach you. I've been trying to get in touch with you for a while now." A red glow shone in front of Sailor X for a moment and when it faded, a simple golden pen floated before her with a star on top. "I've been told to entrust this to you, because you would know what to do with it."

Sailor X hesitated. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Well…You're just going to have to go with it. I guess there really isn't anything I can tell you to convince you. But your subconscious did trust me enough to let me into your head."

The darkness and stars around her started to fade, and she grabbed the pen before it disappeared completely. "Wait! Who are you?"

"I doubt we'll ever meet in life so it doesn't need to be said. Fight with all your might, Sailor X. I'm counting on you to protect this planet. There's a lot to lose if someone doesn't. More than you know..." The voice faded, and changed to a new one, more familiar, calling her name.

"Sailor X? Sailor X, please wake up!" Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up into the face of boy who seemed about her age. Black hair hid his gaze and the rest of the mystery face was covered with a red scarf. When he realized that she had opened her eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness!"

"Who…?" She sat up and he stood. When Sailor X saw his full body, she realized that she knew who he was. "You! The one who's been helping us!"

The boy nodded. "I am the Silver Knight." Sailor X saw that he wore the traditional garb of a medieval knight, with a heart on his chest plate (which she realized she must have hit her head on when he caught her). He had a sword sheathed on his left side and on his right arm was a shield. He certainly looked the part. "I too come from another planet and am destined to fight Magnus's Empire. And I will always aid you when you need it most."

"You mean at the last second?"

The Silver Knight laughed. "Well, I have to make them believe that they're succeeding. And you can usually hold your own most of the time."

"You've been there even when you didn't have to save us?" she asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't be doing my job right if I left the princess in trouble. I always have to be ready." Sailor X could hear the smile in his words, and she felt unnerved by the fact that she couldn't see his eyes. She wanted to see his face and read his expression.

"Take off your mask and move your hair," she said.

"Now isn't the time to reveal identities to each other. Though I want to know who you really are as well, you need to get back upstairs before Sorciero does to Sun and North Star what he did to you."

"Oh no! You're right!" Sailor X sprinted back to the building calling out a thank you as she went.

"We'll meet again, Sailor X," the Silver Knight said to himself, before he jumped up onto a lamppost and disappeared.

Sailor X flew up the stairs to the apartment and found she was just in time to see Levitator putting both North Star and Sun into a bubble.

"X Hidden Beam!" She shot an attack through the shadowy monster and the bubble popped, releasing her teammates.

"Sailor X!" both of the other soldiers cried.

"The Sailor brat? Still alive! NO!" Sorciero cried. "GET HER!" He pointed at her and Levitator advanced.

"I don't think so! Starshine Blast!" North Star shouted and hit Levitator with a white gold light and it was thrown backwards.

"Extreme Meltdown!" Sun also shouted, aiming for Sorciero. He dodged but she still managed to graze his arm.

"GAH! You'll pay for that, you little wretch! Levitator!"

Before Levitator could move, Sailor X made her wand appear and cried, "Secret Star Magic!" Her golden ray of light hit the monster straight on and it screamed, "Encore!"

"Damn you, Sailor brats! Damn you all! I will succeed one day! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED AGAIN!" In a puff of blue smoke, Sorciero disappeared.

Once the smoke had cleared, the teens scattered all over the floor began to wake up. Sailor X, Sun, and North Star ran out of the apartment and listened from right outside the door to see what everyone was saying.

"Dude, this party must have been killer sick! I can't even remember what happened!"

"I must have been so plastered, yo!"

"Once again, Bebe throws the best party ever!"

"Why is there a hole in the door?"

The three soldiers changed back to normal, shaking their heads. They made their way back up to Kate's apartment and plopped onto the couch.

"Still wanna watch a movie?" Lisa asked.

"My head is killing me. I just want to go to sleep," Kate said, pulling a blanket over you.

"I agree. I think I'm getting too old for this," Jane said. "Goodnight girls." She kissed Kate on the head and went into the bedroom.

Lisa pulled out her pillow and sleeping bag and laid out on the floor below the couch. Kate closed her eyes and felt herself fall instantly drifting away into peaceful slumber, her thoughts full of silver knights and gold pens.


	11. Chapter 10

Hey guys and gals! I'm here with another chapter! :D And I personally think this one came out really well. I hope you will enjoy it just as much as I loved polishing it up for you ^.^ Also, there is a reference in there to another one of my favorite fandoms. If you know what it is, leave me the answer in a review and you'll get a cookie! And maybe even something else if I can think of something XD

As always, please review because I love to hear from you and enjoy this chapter! Look for another on the way soon as well! Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 10: School Policy Problems**

"Ugh, I can't believe we're here again! Stupid vacations never last long enough," Lisa complained as she, Kate, and Sheldon made their way to their first period.

"Uh, Lisa, I would think you might be glad that we're back in school. Because that means that, I don't know, we're not being attacked by crazy people anymore?" Sheldon said, exasperatedly.

"Yeah, well I think it's about time they attack again. Sailor X and ah-...Sun can handle it perfectly fine and then they'd close the school again and I could sleep for a few extra hours." She put her hands together and leaned her cheek on them closing her eyes with a dreamy smile.

"I'm pretty sure that Sailor X is tired of dealing with those freaks and would like a break from saving the day," Kate said, clearly highlighting her annoyance at her friend's wish to have their favorite villains come for a visit.

"Hmph." Lisa pouted a little and the trio rounded the corner and stepped through the door of their English class. The three sat down and awaited the morning announcements as per the usual morning routine. When the 'ping' sound signaled the beginning, the students quieted a little and looked up.

"Good morning students and staff of our beloved Norman Thomas. I'm quite grateful to be able to welcome you back for another week of academics, even after the two horrific incidents this month. Speaking of which, after the pledge, all of the students and faculty are to immediately go to the auditorium for a quick assembly on some new safety procedures that will become effective today. Now, onto our lunch menu..."

Kate and Lisa looked to each other, tuning out the voice of the principal. "What do you think they're gonna do?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know...But I kind of have a bad feeling," Kate replied.

"Miss Astrum! Miss Soleno! Quiet!" the teacher ordered and the two fell silent.

When the pledge had been recited, Mr. Lingua said, "Alright, kids, down to the auditorium I guess. Leave your things, as I'm sure we'll be back here before the bell. That means you all better have your homework from last week. You had plenty of time at home to work on it."

They shuffled down the hall with the rest of the school's population. Lisa and Kate could see the worry in each other's eyes about what kind of policies might be put in place. Sheldon, who walked with them, couldn't understand their distress.

As they settled into the seats, they could see the principal down below them with a microphone in hand. The vice principal and secretaries were also there with him, as well as what looked like two police officers. Kate and Lisa suddenly felt even more nervous about what might be coming.

When everyone was seated, he spoke. "Quiet down everyone, please quiet down." The rumble of chatter faded into silence. "Thank you, thank you. Ahem. Students and staff of Norman Thomas High School, as you know, we have had some supernatural occurrences lately in New York City. Two of which were unfortunately located at our our facility. Of course, we've been blessed enough to have the daring and beautiful Sailor X and Sun as our heroes at these events.

"However, I believe it is imperative that we also prepare and enforce new systems of security to ensure that all the students are safe in case of another attack. It could be possible that one day the Sailor soldiers might not show up, and in that case we need to have a backup plan. Therefore, we are gathered here today to review the new policies that we have instilled."

There were low groans bouncing about the auditorium and the principal put up a hand. "Firstly and perhaps the most important, no one shall enter our building without proper identification," he began. "I'm sure you have noticed the two police officers who are standing up here with me. They will be checking each and every one of your ID cards as you come into school in the morning.

"Secondly, we will be limiting the number of restroom visits per student and seniors will not be able to leave during lunch or early from school. From now on, open period students must report to the library and attendance will be taken.

"Lastly, should we, Heaven forbid, be attacked once again, we will go into a lockdown mode. This will mean that all students will gather at the back corner of the classroom, all lights will be turned off, and no one under any circumstances will be allowed in or out of the rooms until we give the clear. We will have a few practice drills later this week."

"This isn't good, Kate," Lisa whispered.

"You think I don't know that?" Kate replied, also hushed.

"Now we want you all to exercise the most extreme caution. Luckily we have not lost any students thus far, but we do not want to take any chances. Be careful and make smart choice when it comes to your safety. That will be all for today. Thank you for your time. You may now return to your classes."

At once all the students rose from their seats and talking filled the room. They and the faculty filed out of the auditorium in a crowd.

"What are we going to do, Kate? If something happens, we'll be trapped in our classrooms and we won't be able to stop them!" Lisa said, actually sounding panicked for once.

"Look, I don't know what we'll do if that happens. Let's just not worry about it, and we'll improvise if we have to." But Kate found that she couldn't take her own advice. She knew that if they were caught up in a lockdown that there would be only one way to get out. A new rush of nerves filled her as she made her way back to the classroom.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

When Kate returned home she took Lisa with her to her apartment and the two of them sat down with Jane and Astra at the kitchen table. The two girls explained the new situation and saw their worry reflected in Jane and Astra's eyes.

"This wouldn't be such a problem if you could reveal your true selves to them," Astra said. "Back on Xena everyone knew who you were, there was no reason for secrets. The people of this planet are likely to spread the word to everyone they know, who will then tell everyone _they_ know, and eventually it'll be all over the world. The media would be after you as if you were celebrities, and worst of all, it would be entirely too easy for someone from the dark side to find and destroy you."

"Well, that made me feel a whole lot better," Lisa deadpanned.

"But what if that's our only choice?" Kate asked.

"Well, I'll be out here to hold things off," Jane said. "I'm not incapable of handling a few monsters. I did it for five years in my prime. At least I could buy some time until you found a way to escape and transform."

"I guess," Kate said, though she worried that her grandmother might be pushing herself too hard for her age.

"Don't you worry about anything, sweetheart. We'll figure it out." Jane put a hand over her granddaughter's which instantly made her feel a little better.

"In the meantime, try to come up with a plan to get your teachers to let you out in case of a lockdown. I'm sure you'll know soon enough when one of them isn't a drill, so you'll know when the time comes that you'll need to execute it."

"Right," both girls said simultaneously.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Djina walked down the long corridor leading to her master's chamber. Her maroon hair swished back and forth in its high ponytail. As she approached, she could hear what Magnus was saying on the other side of the door and who she was saying it to.

"This is your last chance, Sorciero. If you fail again, you will be joining Veneficussss." She hissed out the end of the name in that snake-like way she had.

"Yes, yes, Madam. I shall not fail you. I swear on my life." Sorciero gulped. "Which I know is at stake."

"I will be waiting for positive results. Now leave me. I am expecting others." There was a quiet moment in which all Djina could hear was footsteps, and suddenly the door opened. Sorciero exited and looked at Djina with a heavy expression before turning away and walking down the hall.

Djina watched him retreat before entering the throne room herself. She made a low bow when she saw her queen. "Madam, you wished to see me?" she asked.

"Yes, Djina. I have a task for you." Magnus's eyes glinted in the dim light. "As you know, Sorciero has not had much luck on Earth with those Sailor girls. I would like you to go to Earth yourself and do whatever it takes to eliminate them before Sorciero attacks. I do not wish to waste anymore of my energies to give you monsters. And if he should fail…The outcome is something I'm sure you would rather not know."

"Y-yes, Madam Magnus. I will be sure to do my duty." With another bow Djina backed out of the room and ran back to the other end of the corridor. She didn't go into the room where the rest were waiting but instead found a corner to herself and stopped, shaking slightly.

Since they had been recruited for Magnus's army many years before, her and Sorciero had not gotten along as well as they used to. But that did not change the fact that she _had_ to succeed so that he could succeed and more importantly, survive.

He was, after all, her brother.

Immediately she began plotting how she could rid the world of her and Sorciero's enemies.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

For the next few days, Lisa and Kate were constantly on their toes. They kept watching vigilantly for any sort of signs of danger, and if they felt something suspicious, they were out to the 'bathroom' immediately. Really they were doing scouting trips around the school to double check that all was safe.

They wound up using their three trips everyday and the teachers began to give them strange looks. After all, they hadn't really been frequent users of the school's facilities before. But their suspicions were a risk the two needed to take so that they had a better chance of not being locked up if there was another attack.

That Friday Kate sat down to the usual lunch table looking grim. She had bags under her eyes, yet the eyes themselves were wide open and darting back and forth like a field mouse. She was almost visibly shaking. These were all side effects of her not having slept very well from worry. "I-I can't stand this anymore!" she cried as she chomped down on her sandwich. "Any more of this and I'll go berserk!"

"Mmm," Lisa mumbled. Her lack of sleep had the opposite effect of her friend's, making her drowsy and likely to drift off sitting straight up, as she was doing now. She slumped over and almost face-planted into her lunch but Sheldon caught her.

"I don't know why you guys are freaking out so much," Sheldon said. "After all, the teachers will protect us to the best of their ability and of course Sailor X is out there too."

"'N' Sail'r S'n," Lisa added groggily.

"And don't forget about North Star," Mia also chimed in.

"Oh yeah, those two. But anyway, you really have nothing to worry about Kate. There's a lot of people who will protect you. And I will too. I'll do my best to make sure nothing happens to you, ok?" He laid a hand gently on Kate's and she blushed crimson. For a moment, as he said those words, she really felt as if everything would just work out somehow. But in reality she knew it wouldn't be so easy. She chuckled inwardly at the irony. _In the end, I'll be the one doing the protecting. He has no idea why I'm really worried._

_**(.:SX:.)**_

After a weekend of remembering how nice it was to sleep, Kate and Lisa returned to school on Monday with extreme reluctance.

"I guess this will be our lives until we can finally defeat Magnus. Sleep on the weekends and stay awake during the week," Lisa said.

"Maybe I'll start drinking coffee," Kate said. Though she hated the taste, the caffeine was suddenly starting to sound really good.

As per the new routine, they had their ID cards checked against a list of the entire student and staff body, they went to their lockers for no more than two minutes, and they were in their classroom with the door closed and locked within 10 minutes of arriving. Kate thought that perhaps she would using this first period to take a little nap, seeing as this was her easiest class, but just then, there was a 'ping' announcing that someone was about to speak over the intercom.

"Attention! Attention! We are under a Code Red! I repeat, a Code Red!" the voice of the principal spoke, and immediately Kate and Lisa were on their feet and looking in fear at one another. Thinking it was only just a drill, everyone else got up chattering, glad for the break in class.

"Everyone in the back corner! And stop talking! If there were someone here then they would know where to find us for sure," Mr. Lingua said. The talking died down but not by much. Everyone gathered in the furthest corner from the door and sat as their teacher turned out the lights and closed the blinds. He then came over to double check his attendance so that if the office called he was ready.

Kate and Lisa were sitting towards the front of the group and whispering so low it they almost couldn't hear each other. "This isn't good, Lisa. There's no way we'd be able to get out for real without using our plan."

"You're right. I guess it's a good thing we came up with it. But hopefully we don't have to use it anytime soon." Sheldon decided to join them at this point.

"You alright, Kate?" he asked noticing her tense shoulders.

"Y-yeah. Just dandy," was her reply.

"Aw, there's nothing to worry about! I'm positive this is just a drill. And even if it wasn't, we'd be plenty safe hiding like this. Nothing's gonna happen."

"Easy for you to say," Lisa retorted. "In case you haven't noticed, we're dealing with magical enemies, Shel. They might be able to just teleport into the room if they want to!" In a lower tone she mumbled, "Not that that's the real problem anyway." Just then the phone rang and Mr. Lingua went over to answer it.

"Hello?" There was a pause as his face went from slightly impatient looking, to wide-eyed. "Are you sure?" Another pause. The girls held their breath, feeling dread creep across them. "Yes, we're all here. Shall I tell them?" One final pause and Mr. Lingua nodded slowly. "Alright. Thank you. Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone, he turned back to the students who were now all waiting for information. "Ah, not to alarm anyone but it would appear we have an actual crisis on our hands. Now, now, there's no need to worry. Our Sailor soldiers will be arriving soon I'm sure, and it's likely the threat will not even reach us. For now, please just stay calm."

Lisa swung her head around in annoyance to look at Sheldon, who was almost looking a little nervous himself. "Oh, like I was supposed to know that it wasn't just a drill?" The sarcasm was dripping from his voice. "And if you start acting like that, Kate's just gonna get more worked up."

Said brunette's eyes had seemed to double while her pupils did the opposite, retracting into tiny black beads. She turned her head very subtly toward Lisa and gave a short, stiff nod. To show that she understood, Lisa tucked some hair behind her ear.

Suddenly she burst out in a cry of pain. She grabbed at her stomach and doubled over. Sheldon and Kate bent over her. "Oh my gosh, Lisa, what's wrong?" the latter asked, knowing full well it was nothing.

"I...I don't know! All of the sudden, this-AUGH!-pain..."

Mr. Lingua was over in a flash. "Lisa? Where does it hurt?" She pointed to the side of her abdomen. "Oh God, it could be an appendicitis. Perfect!"

"I need...helAAAAH!" Surprisingly, Kate had to admit that Lisa was a very good actress.

"But we're all locked in! How could we even get, like, the nurse or someone here?" Sheldon asked.

"Lisa will have to wait until the Code Green is called," Mr. Lingua said.

"But if we don't get her to the nurse or the nurse to her, she could die!" Kate cried. She had to get him to agree so that there was an excuse for him to open the door. Otherwise the plan would be ruined and they would have to go with Option B: revealing their secret.

"There is no way we can risk the life of the nurse either by having her come down here!"

"But Mr. Lingua-"

"There have been many other people who waited a few hours before they had their appendix taken out, and it may not even be that in the first place. I'm sure the situation here will clear up soon and then we can get her to the nurse or the hospital if need be."

Lisa was still squirming on the ground until she heard this final denial, and then she went still. This was also part of the plan.

_"If all else fails, play dead!"_

"Lisa? Lisa!" Sheldon started shaking her 'unconscious' form. "Mr. Lingua, you have to call the nurse!"

"Ah-I-I, alright! If anyone has any water, please, I think we're going to need it!" he went back to the phone and dialed as some of the students rummaged in their purses and bags for water bottles. Kate couldn't help suppressing a discreet grin of hope that the plan was working after all.

Just then, there was a sound of some sort of commotion coming from nearby. "The threat!" screamed one of the girls. "It's getting closer!" The rest of the class then started to talk and cry and friends hugged each other close.

Mr. Lingua got off the phone and said, "The nurse won't come! She said it's far too dangerous." He was even starting to look panicked and began to bite his nails.

"What?" Kate cried, as well as Lisa who bolted upright from the shock. When everyone went silent and stared at her as if they'd seen a ghost she smacked her forehead and said, "Dammit!"

"Lisa..." Kate moaned.

"Lisa? You're alright?" Sheldon asked and Mr. Lingua rushed over as well to see the miracle up close. "But you were just-"

The two Sailor soldiers looked to each other and then back to the group of their fellow classmates, including their best friend. They both realized then that it was pointless to play games like this. There were others being injured and possibly worse and no one was there to save them. The time had come to put some faith into these kids and their teacher, and trust that their secret was safe with them. And if not, it was a sacrifice they had to make in order to protect everyone and do their duty to them and the planet as a whole.

Kate nodded to Lisa who sighed. They stood together and faced their class. "Everyone," Kate began. "There isn't time for a long explanation, so I think it's best to just show you the truth."

"The reason why I was faking sick was because we were trying to get some way out of the room...so we could do this." The two friends smiled at each other seeing the confused faces of their classmates and teacher. Then, both pulling out their lockets, they called out, "Sun Crystal Power..."

"X Crystal Power..."

"MAKE UP!"

Purple and golden lights shone around the room and when they faded, Sailor X and Sun stood in place of the seemingly normal girls. The rest of those in the room were staring with their eyes wide open and their jaws gaping. Some were rubbing their eyes to make sure they were seeing right and others were pinching themselves to see if they were dreaming.

"No way. You guys are really Sailor soldiers?" asked one boy in the back.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!" a girl commented.

The room filled with the class's impressed and disbelieving remarks. Mr. Lingua even joined in. There were some autograph requests and Sailor X and Sun suddenly found themselves to be a lot more popular than before.

But the most shocked of all was Sheldon, who hadn't said a word since Sailor X had made her transformation call. His eyebrows were knotted together, like he was trying to solve a particularly difficult math problem. He looked back up at her and finally spoke. "Why didn't you say something before?"

"If I had, you would have been in danger. You know how it works in all the superhero movies," Sailor X said.

"But I-"

"Look Shel, we've got a school to save. We can't sit here and argue about this, or get fawned over by all these people. Though it is quite nice. Sure you can't handle this one by yourself, X?" Sailor Sun smiled as she signed her name on someone's notebook.

"No way, Sun, you're coming with me. Mr. Lingua, can you please unlock the door?" Sailor X asked while dragging Sun away from her new fanclub.

"Oh! Of course." He stepped over to the door and turned his key, then opened the door for them. The soldiers nodded once more before charging through the door and towards the sound of the attack.

Flipping open her communicator as she went, Sailor X called Astra and Jane back home.

"Sailor X? We already heard on the news. North Star is on her way right now. Did the plan work?"

"No, it didn't. We had to show them our identities."

"WHAT? Oh, the consequences...Well, nevermind about that now. Focus on saving the school...again!" The tiny screen went blank and Sailor X put the communicator away.

As they continued down the hall, the distressed cries of the other students were growing louder. Finally they found the right door and busted in to find not Sorciero as they had expected, but an entirely different person standing in front of a huddled group of screaming kids.

She wore her maroon hair in a high ponytail and her beetle black eyes glinted in the dim light. She had Egyptian style make up around her eyes which only served to make them seem even darker than they were. Her outfit was a two piece; the top looked like part of a swimsuit with translucent silk flowing from the bottom, and she had large and baggy pants, all in a hot pink. On her wrist, around her neck, and along her ears, was golden jewelry of all sorts.

She turned when she heard them come in. "Ah, my targets finally arrive," she said.

"Who are you?" demanded Sailor X.

"Where are your manners! Well, no matter, I shall introduce myself nonetheless. I am Djina, another follower of the great Magnus and I...am here to distract you while Sorciero takes care of getting the energy we need elsewhere!"

"What?" the girls both said at once.

"That's right! You fell right into my trap!" With a wave of her hand, the room when pitch black, save for the three of them. The kids disappeared and Sailor X and Sun realized they must have just been an illusion. The two felt a strange sensation, not being able to see anything but nothing. "Frustro Halluci, I think we need something more entertaining than this. How about some color?"

With another wave of her arm, Djina changed the room to a swirling mess of blue, green, purple, orange, and every other color imaginable. They danced in waves and spirals in front of Sailor X and Sun's eyes, causing them to be dizzy.

"Oh dear God, I think I'm gonna barf!" Sun said, choking back bile. Her partner stumbled, trying to keep from falling over since she couldn't tell which way was up.

"Oh, the poor girls look like they can't even see straight. Let's give them a break...or two!" Djina waved her arm again and the scene before their eyes changed to a jungle setting.

"Well, this isn't so bad," Sun said, opening her eyes.

"Y-y-yes it is!" Sailor X cried, pointing with a shaking hand behind her.

A large lion was slowing prowling towards them, licking its lips. Sun turned slowly and found herself nose to nose with the giant cat. "Uh...hi kitty?" With a roar and a snap of its jaws, the lion had caused Sailor X and Sun to sprint faster than they had ever managed before. A thought drifted through both their minds about how they would have gotten an A+ in gym for this kind of running.

"There has got...to be a way...to kill this...monster!" Sun gasped between breaths.

"Well...it seems like...she's controlling it...very directly...Unless...Aha!" Sailor X realized that one of the bands around Djina's wrist must be the Frustro because things happened when she waved her arm.

Just then, the scene shifted again, back to the complete blackness.

"Do you give up yet, Sailor soldiers? Or do I have to keep throwing you in new places. I assure you, the possibilities are endless." Djina rotated her right hand on her wrist and the black changed to many different places as if they were watching a slideshow.

"Now that we know which arm it is, let's attack! X Hidden Beam!" Sailor X blasted one of the bracelets but there was no effect. "Sun!"

"Extreme Meltdown!" Sun also hit a bracelet but nothing happened.

"What do you brats think you're doing now? You won't get away with this!" As Djina was about to wave her arm again, Sailor X noticed one particular band glowing a slight green and realized that that was the one.

Taking aim, she called out, "X Hidden Beam!" and hit the bracelet dead on. It fell to the ground and became a gelatinous pyramid of green slime.

Immediately the illusion faded and the they were back in the classroom. "What? This can't be! Frustro!"

"I don't think so," Sailor X said with a wink. "Secret Star Magic!"

The Frustro was engulfed in a shining golden light and cried out, "Encore!" as it disappeared.

"EAUGH! Now I understand why my brother was met with such issues. Don't think this shall be our last meeting, Sailor girls. The battle has only just begun!" Djina's legs suddenly disappeared from under her into a wispy tail and she flew out through the wall.

"Well that took care of that," Sun said.

"But we didn't get the real threat! That means that Sorciero got away with energy!"

"Not exactly," came a new voice from the door.

"North Star!" Sailor X said, running over to hug her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I stopped him! What, you think I didn't have it in me? Your grandma's still got the, um, skillz to pay the billz, homeskillet?" She did a weird gangster sign and Sailor X and Sun just put their hands up.

"No, Grandma, just don't."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

The three Sailor soldiers returned to the classroom where Mr. Lingua and the rest of the students were waiting. They weren't quite sure what they were going to do now that their secret had been leaked, but they had to think of something.

When they stepped through the doorway, there was a resounding round of applause. Sun, who was much enjoying this praise, took a few bows and signed some more autographs. Sailor X and North Star could only roll their eyes.

"Sailor X?" Mr. Lingua said.

"Yes?"

"Well, while you were gone, we all talked. And we know that it would be very difficult for you if your identities were revealed to the world. So we all took a vow that we will never tell anyone who you really are. We'll act as if we have no idea whatsoever."

"Really? You would all do that?" As Sailor X looked around the classroom, she found many smiles and nods with the occasional encouraging look. They were all going to protect one of her deepest secrets, when half of them hadn't even cared about her existence as a regular person before. She was truly touched and felt like tears might form in her eyes.

"That really means a lot kids," North Star said. "Thank you all."

Sheldon then got up and stood next to Sailor X. "I have to tell you something too. A secret I've been keeping myself. I-"

But just then, a golden light beamed out of Sailor X's pocket (**AN:** Yes, their skirts have pockets :p). The star pen that she had received in the strange dream she had was glowing. "What the..." The light burst out from the top and filled the entire room, blinding everyone momentarily. And just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone again, leaving Sailor X, Sun, and North Star staring into the faces of disoriented students.

"Hey what just...Oh my gosh! It's the Sailor soldiers!" cried out one girl. "Can we have your autographs?"

"Yo, tell us who you really are!" said another person.

Sheldon, who was still nearest to Sailor X, gave a start. "Sailor X! I-I-I, uh...Hello." He blushed deep red and bowed his head.

"Um, X, why is everyone acting like they don't know us anymore?" Sun asked in a whisper.

"I...don't know. Maybe the pen wiped their memories?" she replied.

"What? But I was finally gonna be populaaaar! Why did you do that?" Sun groaned and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.

"I didn't have any control over it!"

"Oh, relax, Sun," North Star said. "This is a lot easier than trying to be sure all these people keep their word about the secret. If I were you, I'd be relieved."

"Sheldon? Weren't you about to say something?" Sailor X asked him.

"W-what? I don't remember wanting to say anything...Except that maybe...Well, I really like what you do. I hope you keep on fighting forever."

Sailor X knew that wasn't what he was going to say before, but now that he had forgotten what had happened, there was no way to get him to remember. But she felt that perhaps it was better that way. When the right time came for her to tell him the truth, then maybe he would tell her his secret as well.

"Well, uh, stay in school! We left some of you autographs already so...we've gotta go!" Sailor X dragged Sun out and North Star followed behind as the three left to a chorus of fans.

A little farther down the hallway, they changed back to normal. They were making their way back to the classroom when Lisa asked, "Where did you even get that pen, Kate? I don't remember Astra giving it to you."

Kate explained the mysterious voice that had come to here when she was knocked out in their last fight with Sorciero. "And it gave me the pen. Which I have no idea what to do with, even though it said I would."

"You know, to a normal person, this conversation would make you look like you needed to be in the nuthouse. But anyway, I'm sure you'll figure out what it's for eventually. But please tell it that next time, if people find out who we are, that it should leave their memories alone."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

"I grow bored of this and my energy is spent, Sorciero," Magnus said to her minion upon his empty-handed return. Djina was also present and waited with baited breath for what would come next. "You no longer have a place in my army if all you shall do is fail. It's time to say goodbye." With a wave of her hand, some of her many torture devices flew into the air.

A mace swung as if someone was holding and controlling it. It spun faster and faster towards Sorciero's bowed and waiting form, but before it could make contact, Djina jumped in its path. Her body crumpled and fell on top of her brother's.

"Dj-Djina!" he cried in shock when he realized what she had done. "But why? You could have lived! You don't even treat me as a brother anymore. Why start now?"

"'S my job...to protect you...No matter how long...we haven't gotten along...Run." Her body went limp and her head fell sideways. Tears started to fall from Sorciero's eyes as he lay his sister down and stood up to try and escape.

"What a pointless act. It shows why love and good emotions are useless in this world. For the girl dies in vain. She deflects one instrument of death, but a thousand others still come to kill you." Another wave of her hand and Magnus sent another round of weapons in Sorciero's direction.

Despite his running and his sister's sacrifice, Sorciero was eventually caught but a noose and suspended in midair until he stopped breathing. Magnus merely shoved them off to the side where one of her other servants would come and clean up the mess later.

For a moment, she felt a pang of sadness strike her heart. "What am I doing?" she said out loud, feeling disgusted with herself.

That feeling was quickly shoved away by her familiar rage and hatred. "I am doing whatever it takes to succeed in my goals. No one shall stop me." And with that, she began to contemplate who should next travel to Earth.


	12. Chapter 11

So guess what. I'm a total jerk for leaving you all hanging again T_T I'm really sorry but the end of the school year has just been filled with nothing but ceremonies and dinners and work and tests and BLAH! But guess what else. I graduated high school! :D Now I'm free for the summer and I will be updating much more often! And I decided to start with this one because it's the easiest since it's already written XD I promise I won't leave you again :( Especially because now I have a laptop so I can write wherever I want in my house :D:D:D:D

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please review. And speaking of reviews, I'd like to thank The Fan of Many Things for reviewing every chapter! Thank you so much! It's people like you that make me want to keep doing this ^^

Love ya!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 11: Frenemies**

"Magnus!" A voice broke into the queen's thoughts. When she realized who it belonged to, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, one of the few changes in expression the stoic ruler allowed herself.

"Yes…Amicitia, what is it?" Magnus's discontent with her was obvious in her tone.

"Well, I heard about Sorciero and Djina from the others and I want to take my turn! Please, Madam, I can do it! Give me a chance!" She beamed up at her leader with eyes full of excitement. Magnus never could understand why she was so upbeat, no matter what she said to her. Eventually she stopped trying and merely let her be the way she was. She felt that in the future it might come in handy when she was working on her vaccine.

"Amicitia, I do not believe you are ready yet," she said for what must have been the millionth time.

"But I am! I promise, Madam, please!"

Magnus sighed. It was amazing how this girl who was so different from the rest of her minions could make her actually react more humanly than she had since her former life. It almost made her remember…She shook the thoughts away and looked back at Amicitia.

"Alright. But you are not getting many chances. If you fail me, have no doubt, the consequences will be grave."

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you! Madam, this is an honor!" Amicitia bounced up and down clapping before bowing so low to the ground, her silver ponytail fell over her shoulder to brush the floor. "Don't worry, I have a plan and it is foolproof! You can count on me, Madam!"

With that she ran out of the room and left Magnus to her thoughts once again. The queen almost laughed at the sight of the girl being so enthusiastic to bring chaos upon a world she didn't even know.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Amicitia made her way down the hallway of Norman Thomas High School. Her plan was going into action. She just had to get to the right classroom and the first phase would be complete.

She turned another corner and-There it was! Just the place she had been looking for. She smiled wide and opened the door. "Hello humans, I have arrived!"

"Oh, good, I thought you got lost," the teacher said. "Students, please welcome out newest classmate. What did you say your name was again, dear?"

"I'm Ami-" But then she remembered not to use her real name. She had already developed a fake identity and now was the time for her embrace it. "M-Marti, ma'am. Marti Magnium."

"Ah, yes, Marti. Well please take a seat anywhere that's open. And welcome to Norman Thomas." Amicitia nodded to the teacher and found her way into an empty desk right next to a girl with long brown pigtails and purple eyes. She thought that for some reason this girl seemed very familiar but thought that it must be her imagination. She didn't really know anyone but the people who worked under Magnus. Anyone from her home planet had been forgotten long ago, and there was no way they would be on Earth anyway.

The familiar girl turned to her with a smile when she sat. This gesture surprised Amicitia. She wasn't used to people just handing out smiles like that, unless they were hiding evil intent underneath.

"Hi, I'm Kate Astrum. This is Lisa." The brunette gestured to another in front of her. Her hair was shoulder-length and there were blond streaks in the front to frame her face. She turned towards Amicitia and gave her yet another smile, her green eyes sparkling. "Yo," was all she said.

"Um, hi." Already things were falling perfectly into place. Once she made some friends then she could start gathering information about the Sailor soldiers. And while she was here, she might as well attack a few places. After all, these people could probably let her know about perfect places to collect energy from. Even if she didn't tell them that that's what she was doing.

"So where are you from?" Kate asked.

"Ah…Well, I'm…" Amicitia realized that she hadn't exactly worked this part out. She needed to think fast. "I'm from a country very far away…It's called Blur…shu…ema…Blurshuema."

"Where the heck is that?" Lisa flipped open her text book to see if she could find it on the map.

"Well, it's in Africa…And it's a rather newly sovereign nation so it probably won't be in that book." She was given a skeptical look before Lisa closed her book and sat back in her desk. Kate on the other hand looked absolutely fascinated.

"Wow, that's so far away! And your English is so good too, for a foreigner," she marveled.

"Well, that's because I was born here. I lived here for a few years before we moved to Blurshusuk."

"You mean Blurshuema?"

"Yeah, that."

Lisa looked less and less convinced while Kate looked more and more interested. "Tell me about this place! I've always wanted to meet someone straight out of another world!"

"Miss Astrum, Miss Soleno, and Miss Magnium. I understand that you would like to get to know each other, but can we save the chitter chatter for lunchtime?"

"Yes, Mrs. Geogi," Amicitia's new guides, as she was going to call them, said together. The Kate turned to her and whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Meet us in the cafeteria at lunch. You can sit with us!"

Amicitia then took her turn to smile. Not only were they completely naive in this world, except for maybe Lisa, but they were also very hospitable. She would suck everything she could out of these humans and then spit them out when they had nothing left. Magnus would be so proud of her and finally the universe would belong to her queen.

That was what she was supposed to want, right?

_**(.:SX:.)**_

At lunch Kate and Lisa were already seated at a table before Amicitia arrived. She spotted them with two other people and she sat in the empty chair in between a boy with black hair and amber eyes and Kate.

"Hey Marti!" Kate said when she saw her. "Sheldon, Mia, this is Marti. She's from Blurshuema in Africa."

"Nice to meet you," the boy, apparently Sheldon, said with a smile as he stuck out his hand towards her. Mia, a shy looking girl with violet hair and burgundy eyes, nodded at her with a shy grin.

Marti wasn't sure what to do with Sheldon's hand and just stared at it with a confused look. Sheldon looked at Kate and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged back at him and he withdrew his hand.

"Ok...So Marti, what made your family decide to move here?" he asked.

"Family? What family?" she said without thinking, then clamped her mouth shut. She saw Lisa's head swing towards her, eyes flashing suspicion again.

"Don't you live with parents, _Marti_? Or some kind of guardian?" Lisa interrogated.

"N-no, actually." _Think of something!_ "I mean, I came here by myself, before them. They'll be here after they finished up back home."

"Mmhmm..." Her green eyes seemed to try to look into her mind. Amictia felt a blush creep up on her face and she turned away.

"That's cool. I live alone too," Sheldon said. "Well, Mia and I live together but we don't have any parents."

"Oh. Well that sounds like fun! Why would you want any parents to tell you what to do? I say good riddance."

The entire table was silent and stared at Amicitia as if she had just sprouted a second head. Mia had bowed her head and it looked as if little drops of water had fallen from her face. Sheldon suddenly wasn't smiling anymore, Lisa looked angry, and Kate looked shocked.

"Um, Marti, can you come over here for a second?" she said and grabbed her arm. Amicitia got up and knew that she must have done something else wrong.

"Marti, Sheldon's mom left him and his dad died. And Mia's mom disappeared. They're really sensitive about the subject and that was kinda mean."

"Oh...well I didn't know that." But was that such a bad thing? She would never admit it to anyone, but she always desired freedom to do what she wanted. It was part of the reason she had come up with her plan. She could help her queen to rule the world, and could also explore at the same time.

"I know you're not used to certain things because of where you're from, but try to be a little more careful ok?" Kate smiled at her.

"Um, ok." Amicitia made a mental note not to say anything that might be considered offensive by the Earthlings. "So now what?"

"Well, I guess you should apologize."

"Apologize?" This was a word she had never heard before.

"Yeah, because you made them upset."

"No, I mean, what does apologize mean?"

Once again, Kate looked surprised. "You...are really strange." She giggled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Forget being from another country. You act like you're from another planet!"

_You don't know that half of it._

"I like you. But I'm going to have to teach you how to act like a normal teenager. Well, normal for around here." She started to walk back to the table and Amicitia followed. She felt a strange sensation in her chest when she heard Kate's words, but she couldn't figure out why. It almost felt...good.

"Now when you go back and sit down, you should say 'I'm sorry' to Sheldon and Mia," she explained.

"Ok." They made it back to the table and Amicitia faced the two of them. "I'm sorry."

"She didn't know. She's not used to this sort of thing," Kate explained.

"It's alright," Mia said. "I know you didn't know what was going on. It just hurts to think about sometimes." These Earth people had so many feelings. It was no wonder why Magnus needed so much energy to make her vaccine. It was kind of nice though. A change from the same old evil, vengeful emotions she was surrounded in everyday.

There was an awkward pause in which Sheldon took Mia's hand and Lisa eyed Amicitia again. Kate broke the ice once more by asking, "So, Marti, why don't you have anything to eat?"

That was when she noticed that the others had trays or bags of food with them. Just looking at them made her stomach growl. She only got fed twice a day, once in the very early morning and once late at night. She thought that was just the way of things, universally. Apparently she was mistaken.

"Oh...Well I'm not very hungry at the moment," she lied. "Maybe from being in a new place."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Kate agreed. Amicitia was liking this one the most. She was very trusting and didn't question her much. She almost made her feel comfortable.

"I had the same problem when I first moved here," Mia said. "It should go away in a day or two."

"Yeah. Maybe."

"You know what? We need to make you feel better about being here. Why don't you come with us after school to the mall?"

"Mall?" Amicitia questioned, once again not knowing what the word meant.

"What? You've never heard of the mall?" Kate cried.

"Um, no?"

"Wow! Maybe you are an alien. A mall is a big building with a bunch of stores in it. You'll really like it, I'm sure. Shopping is in every girl's blood."

"Are there a lot of people at these malls?"

"Oh yeah, tons!"

Amicitia smiled for the first time since she had entered the cafeteria. "Ok...I'll go." _Though you won't know I'm there. _Lisa opened her mouth as if to object but Kate shot her a glare and she looked away, annoyed.

"Great! Just get on one of the city buses and when they say they're stopping at the Manhattan Mall, get off and we'll meet you in the front around 4 PM."

"Excellent." Already on her first day she had basically been handed the perfect place to attack. This was the greatest plan anyone had ever come up with. Magnus would be so pleased.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Later that afternoon, Kate, Lisa, and Mia were waiting outside the entrance to the Manhattan Mall. It was already 4:30 and there was no sign of Marti.

"Just forget it, Kate, she's not going to come," Lisa said.

"But I really thought that we were going to be good friends..." Kate said, disappointed.

"Yeah well, she's weird. I don't like her, and I'm glad she's not here."

"You just have to give her a chance. She's in a very new environment."

"Maybe she was just a little too nervous. Or maybe she got lost," Mia suggested.

"Maybe..." Kate said. "Fine. Let's just go inside."

The three girls shopped for a bit when they suddenly heard screams. Kate and Lisa looked to one another with a nod but then realized that Mia was with them.

"Ah, Mia, um...Why don't you go look in that store over there and we'll meet you in a little bit. Lisa and I have to go to the bathroom."

"But I just heard someone screaming over there. Shouldn't we find out what's going on?"

"Screaming? I didn't hear any screaming, did you Kate? No, there's no such thing as screaming. Just get inside there!" Lisa shoved her friend into the store where she fell into the clutches of a clerk who tried to sell her some very expensive perfume. The two brunettes then dashed away to the nearest restroom.

"X Crystal Power..."

"Sun Crystal Power..."

"MAKE UP!"

In less than a minute they had returned to the spot where the heard the commotion. There next to the fountain was a pile of limp bodies and standing on the top was what they assumed to be another of Magnus's minions, a new one who wore a green body suit and had long silver hair. Sailor X thought she looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't figure out why.

Sailor Sun, next to her, suddenly burst out laughing. "Sun, what the?"

"J-Just look!" she said between giggles and she pointed with her staff. Sailor X looked up and saw the monster that the new girl had summoned, some kind of rope. It was currently coiled around another victim, but upon closer inspection, Sailor X realized that it was none other than Bebe.

"Oh my gosh! Sun..."

"Oh come on, can't we just leave her there?" Sailor X gave her a warning look and Sun dropped her shoulders in defeat. "Fine," she sighed. Then she faced towards the girl on the fountain. "As much as it's fun to watch..." Sailor X elbowed her.

"We cannot let you attack any more innocent people! I am Sailor X!"

"And I'm Sailor Sun!"

"We represent the distant planet of Xena, and in it's name, you're going down!" The two struck their poses and waited for the girl to reply.

"Silly, silly, silly, Sailor girls. I am Amicitia, and I am Magnus's greatest warrior yet. You will be defeated by my hand! Frustro Rope, please finish her off and then attend to these girls." The Rope began tighten around Bebe and she screamed. Before Sailor X or Sun could do anything to stop it, a blue light shot out from her forehead. Her screams became louder and the energy shone brighter. The Rope started to uncoil, shrinking away from the raw power.

"Frustro! Do not release the girl! Do as I command!" Amicitia cried.

"Whoa. Sailor X..." Sun said. "What's going on? You don't think..." Just then, they saw Astra running towards them with something in her mouth.

"Bebe's...one of us?"

The Rope seemed to tighten up again, despite Bebe's continual stream of blue light. Suddenly there was a slashing sound. The Rope and Bebe fell to the ground, the former in pieces.

Sailor X looked around to see the Silver Knight's silhouette in one of the store doorways, holding his sword out. He seemed to nod then disappeared.

"Girls!" Astra had finally made it to them, out of breath. "Get Bebe to say, 'Nova Crystal Power, Make up.'"

"Do we have to? I really don't want her on our team!" Sun complained, but Sailor X ran over to Bebe obediently and sat her up. "Bebe, I need you to take this."

"What? Why?" Bebe asked groggily. She barely gripped a blue locket in the shape of a swirl. However, when she made contact with the item, she immediately spoke the words Sailor X was about to tell her in a clear voice. "Nova Crystal Power, Make up!" Blue light shone everywhere and Bebe was wearing a pale blue themed Sailor uniform.

"Ok, what just happened?" She looked herself up and down. "Oh my gosh...I'm gorgeous!"

"There's no time to admire yourself! You've got to help us fight!" Sailor Sun called. "Be useful for once!"

"Um, why would I want to do that? I might dirty my new outfit!"

"Oh please! Fine, don't do anything." Sun turned to the Rope to see that it was tying itself in knots. Once all the pieces were reconnected it coiled up like a snake and twisted. When it uncoiled it was one smooth piece again.

"X Hidden Beam!"

"Extreme Meltdown!"

Both the attacks hit the rope and left burn marks but it easily shed them off to look brand new again. It slithered towards Sailor Nova and wrapped around her again before she could react.

"Whoa! Oh no you don't you ugly thing you. Red velvet is so out of style! Nova Explosion!" Nova blasted the Rope with what looked like a simulation of a star dying. The Rope fell to the floor, lifeless, and Nova looked at her hands in fascination. "I could so get used to this."

"So that's how we get her to do her job. Threaten her with bad fashion." Sun rolled her eyes. "Looks like you're up, X"

"Got it. Secret Star Magic!" Sailor X called.

"Encore!" The Rope hissed, to the surprise of everyone as it hadn't made any noises before, and it turned to dust. Amicitia watched as all the people she had stolen energy from started to regain consciousness.

"Rats! I guess I'll just have to try again another day." She stuck her tongue out at the Sailor soldiers and disappeared in a gray flash.

Sailor X and Sun high fived as had become their custom, and started to head back to the bathroom they had transformed in.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Nova called after them.

"Um, we're going to change back?" Sun said. "We can't do it in public."

"Don't you think you should wait for your leader's orders to do that?" Nova said.

"Ok...X, is it alright?"

"Yeah."

"No, no, no! I'm you're leader!"

Sailor X and Sun looked to each other and with exasperation. They should have known something like that was coming. Nova ran to catch up with them. "Seeing as I am the one who weakened the thing enough to kill it, I am the strongest. Therefore I should be in charge."

"No, Bebe, it doesn't work like that," Sun said in annoyance.

"How do you know my real name?"

"Kate is in charge because she was named for the actual planet and she's the princess."

"Wait...Kate as in-" They had reached the bathroom at that point and Sailor X and Sun pulled off their brooches which caused them to change back to their civilian selves.

"That's right, Bebe," Kate said. "You're favorite losers are superheroes."

"WHAT? No way, this has got to be some sort of nightmare! How can you two, the most unpopular people in the school, be superheroes?" She pulled off her brooch as she said this.

"I'll explain that," Astra said, appearing behind them.

"Is that a talking cat? Oh, I must be dreaming..." She sunk to the floor, not even complaining that it was dirty.

"It'll all make sense in a minute." Astra beamed the memories of Xena back into her mind while Kate and Lisa waited. After a few minutes, the beam stopped and Bebe bowed her head.

"Well?" Kate asked.

"Wow...I can't believe it." Kate and Lisa both thought that perhaps something had finally gotten through to Bebe, that she would finally show some emotions besides shallow over-confidence. "I was friends with you two! That is so not even possible!"

"Yeah well, it's true! I can't even believe it, but we have to accept it and work together," Lisa said.

"Look, Bebe, the fate of Earth is in our hands now. We couldn't defeat them on Xena but we can defeat them here. And we need all the help we can get. What do you say?"

Bebe stuck her nose in the air. "I don't think so. I would never be seen in public with the likes of you two. Even if no one knew who you really were."

"Well then, let's put it this way," Lisa started. "If you don't help us, you can say goodbye to shopping."

"And cute boys."

"And your popularity. Can't have any of those without a planet." Lisa stuck her hand out. "Now what do you say?" Bebe looked thoughtful for a moment and she bit her lip. She grabbed Lisa's hand and shook it hard.

"You've got yourself a deal."

"Good. We'll keep in touch then. Here's your communicator watch." Astra backflipped and a watch appeared.

Bebe picked it up and eyed it. "Not bad. It matches my eyes."

"Hey, Lisa, do you feel like we're forgetting something?" Kate asked.

"Nah. Let's just go home. I'm beat."

Meanwhile, Mia was trapped in a circle of sales clerks, too nice to tell them that she wasn't interested.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Cautiously, Amicitia opened the door to Magnus's throne room. The queen did not look pleased. "Did not you promise me success, Amicitia?" She tapped her fingers on her arm rest waiting for an explanation.

"I'm so very sorry, Madam. But you see just as I thought I had them defeated, the Sailor girls found another team member." At this Magnus's face flashed the slightest look of distress before going back to her normal stoic expressions. "But my plan is useful. Just by befriending an Earth person, I learned of a location where I can find plentiful energy for you. And I can further use this easy information access to find the identities of the Sailor soldiers."

"Hmm...That could be very helpful. Especially considering I already have found two people who I believe to be connected to the Sailor soldiers on this planet. I can further expand my collection. Make it so, Amicitia. But be warned, you will not have so many chances."

"Thank you, Madam! Thank you!" Amicitia said and she bounced up and down before frolicking out of the room.

Magnus shook her head and sighed. _Soon she'll be out of my hair._


	13. Chapter 12

Look! I updated quickly! :D:D:D:D:D So not much has changed since the last time I updated so there's no reason to make a huge note up here. This chapter is kinda fillerish, but it's got some important info in it. So as usual, please enjoy, and please review! I love to hear what you think! :D

Love ya~!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 12: Benedict Amicitia  
**

Gym class was the next time that Amicitia and Kate saw each other. After they got changed and went out to stretch, Kate approached her. "Hey, Marti. What happened to you yesterday? You never showed..."

"Oh...right...uh..." Quickly Amicitia tried to think of something. "Um, I had some unpacking to do. I thought it would be better not to go." _That sounded believable, right? _"We can do it another day?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, you should have told us! We would have come and helped." Kate smiled. "Then again, you didn't even give me your number so how could I even call you anyway?"

"Haha, yeah...Well, I'm pretty much done so if you want to go somewhere else where a lot of people are, I can go."

"Well, I wasn't planning on going anywhere spectacular. But you should come to my apartment today! I'll have Lisa over too and we'll have lots of fun! This way, we can get to know each other better."

"Um..." Amicitia wondered why this girl was pestering for her to be 'friends'. No one had ever treated her like this before. It was strange, and yet something about it was sort of appealing.

But no, she couldn't enjoy it. She had a mission. She was only getting close to this girl to get information. Though she thought that maybe being in a closed environment where they could just talk she would find out more.

"Yeah ok."

"Great! You can come with me on my bus after school." With one last grin in her direction, Kate turned away from Amicitia and the teacher began class.

"Good afternoon, students." He threw a tennis ball up and down in one hand. "We're starting our tennis unit for the year. Everyone grab a partner and practice hitting the ball back and forth. Then pick another team to face. We're gonna get to be tennis pros by the time that we're done in two weeks."

"Partners, Marti?" Kate turned to her. Amicitia looked back at her and felt the urge to smile. Why, she wasn't sure, but whatever made her look more like a normal human was an advantage.

The two grabbed rackets and a ball and found a spot in the gym. Kate served the ball. Amicitia wasn't sure exactly what to do, but when she saw the ball coming towards her face, she swung wildly to protect herself.

A speeding green streak flew past Kate, inches from her face, and hit the wall. She turned to the wall and saw a deep indent where the ball was still stuck.

"Holy sh- I mean, wow! Marti, that was amazing!"

Amicitia put down her racket and looked at the wall herself. "Was it really?"

"Um, yeah! I've never seen anything like that before!"

"How would you like to put those skills to the test?" a voice said from behind them. Bebe sauntered over with her partner. "Let's have a match." The blond leaned in close to Kate and whispered in her ear, "Winner gets to be leader."

"Bebe, we're not doing this now. Besides, winning a tennis match hardly qualifies as a reason to be a leader," she hissed back.

"Well fine. But I'm not giving up yet. You'll change your mind eventually because you're not cut out for it. And when the pressure gets to be too much, you'll be begging for me to take your place." She then backed away from Kate and rejoined her partner.

"Let's just play already," Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Uh, Kate? How do you play?" Amicitia asked.

"Oh, I forgot! You must have never played tennis before. Basically all you have to do is make sure that you hit the ball back over the net. If you don't, they get a point and if they can't send it back then we get a point."

"Ok...Seems simple enough."

"Alright. Ready?"

"I'll serve!" Bebe called out and threw the ball in the air. She swung her racket and the ball went right in Amicitia's direction. She hit it back with no problem at all. Bebe's partner then gave it a whack and the volley continued.

It seemed as if it had been hours and the ball still hadn't dropped. No matter what either team tried to pull, the other team was ready. Finally, Amicitia felt her arm getting tired and her patience wearing thin. She decided to give it her hardest hit the next time it came towards her.

As the ball whizzed in her direction, she readied herself and smacked it as hard as she could. Bebe looked as if she was going to try and return it, but she realized it was coming too fast and ducked. The ball bounced once behind her, then into the out of bounds zone.

"Yes!" Kate put her hand up and looked at Amicitia but she wasn't sure exactly what she meant for her to do. "Marti, when I do that, you're supposed to clap your hand with mine."

"I am?"

"Yes. It's called a high five," she explained.

"Oh...Ok!" Amicitia put her own hand up and gently tapped it against Kate's. The brunette laughed at the action.

"Well, you usually use more force but ok, it's a start."

Bebe looked angry and she and her partner stormed off to return their rackets to the teacher as class was over.

"Hey, Marti, I need to go talk to Bebe about something. I'll meet you at the entrance of the school later, ok?"

"Alright. Goodbye," Amicitia replied and she went to give her own racket to the teacher as Kate followed the blond girl. She actually found herself looking forward to the next gym class.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

"Hey Bebe, can I talk to you for a minute?" Kate asked as she caught up with her stuck up new teammate.

"Must I? Just because we have to work together now doesn't mean we have to be seen with each other in public during the day," she complained.

"I want to talk about this leader thing. Why do you want to be in charge so badly? Isn't it bad enough that you already have the whole school basically under your control?"

"Awww! Can't handle a little competition, Princess?" Bebe gave her a smug look. It was that kind of face that made Kate understand why Lisa wanted to punch her. "I don't think that just because you're the princess of our old planet, and happened to be first one who was reawakened here, that you should automatically be the leader."

"How do you figure?" Kate said, angered by her attitude.

"Let's look at it this way," Bebe began as they continued to follow their classmates. "On Xena it made sense for you to be leader because you were eventually going to be the leader of the planet anyway. Fine and dandy. But taken from the perspective of a person from Earth, who are you? Just a girl from the city who is average to the naked eye." Much as she hated to admit it, she did have a point. "If this were some kind of school thing where everyone voted, who would win?"  
"You..."

"Because...?"

"Because you're popular. But that's just at school. Nobody knows who the Sailor soldiers actually are so they would vote for the one they knew or liked more."

"Well, after making a public debut yesterday, I'm sure they already like me more than you."

"Ok then. Ask someone," Kate challenged.

"Fine. I will." Bebe tapped some boy on the shoulder. He turned toward her, making his tawny hair fall into his golden eyes. Kate sleaned in closer so she could hear every word that transpired between them. "Hey kid, do you know who the Sailor soldiers are?"

"Yeah, of course. Who doesn't know them?" he said. "They were just on the news again last night for saving people at the mall."

"Yeah, and who was there?" she asked.

"Well, Sailor X, Sailor Sun, and some third one. I think she's new."

"Oh so you do know about Sailor Nova."

"Is that her name? Interesting," he said and started to turn away.

"Hey wait, I'm not done with you! Which one do you like best?"

"Which Sailor soldier? I guess I'd have to say Sailor X. She's really pretty and seems very courageous and she's saved the school on multiple occasions and-"

"OK, I didn't ask for your life story! Get out of here." Bebe turned him and pushed him away. The boy looked back at her and it looked like he mouthed 'jerk' as he continued to walk.

"Well?" Kate said, satisfied.

"Ok fine. You're more popular than me for now. But you just wait! With time, my popularity genes will kick in and I'll be in the spotlight as a Sailor soldier too. Then we'll take a poll and find out who should really be leader."

"Whatever you say, Bebe." Kate rolled her eyes again. Bebe then left her to talk with some more 'popular' people. The brunette could only hope that with time she would realize that it wasn't about being a leader. It was about being a team for the common good of the Earth and all the universe.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate and Amicitia met with Lisa at the front of the school when classes had ended. Lisa was less-than pleased about the addition to their group but she didn't say anything.

The three of them sat on the bus together and Amicitia asked a lot of questions about places where there were large crowds and when they were the most crowded.

"You must really like being in places with a lot of people," Kate said. "You would really like a concert."

"A concert?"

"Yeah. A famous musician or group gets on stage and performs live for a huge group of people. There can be anywhere between 50,000 to 300,000 people in a venue at once, depending on where it is."

"Wow! That's amazing!" In her mind, Amicitia was making a list of all the places Kate had told her. This plan made everything so easy.

They were finally dropped off at the Webster Apartment building. Kate led Amicitia through the door and to the elevator.

"This is so strange." She looked at the small box-like room they were in and watched as the doors closed on their own. Lisa pushed a button and suddenly the room was moving. "What's going on?" Amicitia braced herself against the wall.

"Relax, Marti, it's just an elevator. It's taking us up to my floor."

"Oh...ok. Actually, this is kinda fun. Can we go down and up again?" she asked.

"Sure, if you really want to," Kate said with a smile.

"Well, I don't want to. I'll get off at my floor," Lisa said in annoyance. When the door opened she stepped out with a grumbled, "See ya later."

"Don't mind Lisa, Marti. She'll warm up eventually." Amicitia was unphased by Lisa's words and just shrugged. Kate pushed a button and the elevator went down.

Amicitia felt her stomach go up into her chest and she giggled a little. Then as the elevator went back up her organs went back in place and she felt almost like she was floating.

"I've never seen someone have so much fun in an elevator," Kate said. "You are so stragne, Marti!" She put an arm around Amicitia's shoulders which made her blush slightly. No one had ever done such a friendly gesture to her before. She just smiled, not sure what she was supposed to do.

They exited on Kate's floor and went down the hall to her door. The brunette unlocked the door and opened it for her friend, allowing her to enter first.

Astra was sitting on the couch with the TV on. She looked over at the door when they came in, her mouth half open, but upon seeing Amicitia, she closed it again. She jumped down and went over to wind herself between Kate's legs, purring.

"Marti, this is Astra, my cat."

"It's...it's..." Amicitia had never seen something like this before. The 'cat' went up to her and sniffed her pants. She felt her heart grow warm at the sight. "It's really nice! I don't even know how to describe it!"

"Aww! I bet you've never seen a cat before have you?"

"No! But I like it."

"You can pet her if you like." Kate bent down and stroked Astra's head. "Go ahead."

Amicitia cautiously crouched on the floor. She put her hand out and moved it towards the head slowly. Astra sniffed her hand, her whiskers tickling her palm. Amicitia stroked her soft fur in the same way Kate had. She felt so happy, it was truly amazing.

But then she remembered. She wasn't here to play with cats and ride in elevators. She had a job to do. Extract information. She couldn't get attached to things the way they were because when Magnus took over everything would be made in the image she desired.

Amicitia abruptly stood and walked over to the couch to sit. Kate looked at her, perplexed for a moment, then she followed. "Have you ever watched TV Marti?" Kate asked.

"No. What is that?"

"It's a box that you can see things in. I bet you'll like it. Look." Sitting next to her, Kate took a remote from the coffee table and pressed a button, changing the image on the screen. A man was sitting behind a desk holding a pile of papers and looking out of the screen with a serious expression.

"And in other news, last night the Sailor soldiers were sighted again. This time with a spunky new addition named Sailor Nova." A screen shot of Nova from what Kate assumed to be one of the security cameras at the mall appeared in the upper right corner of the screen. "As usual they saved the lives of hundreds and New York City is continually in their debt."

As the newscaster moved onto a different topic, Amicitia grasped the perfect opportunity to bring up the subject she had been waiting for. "Wow, those Sailor soldiers. They sure are...good guys."

"Yeah. They do a lot to protect the city."

"I'm sure. So, do you know anything about who they are?" she asked as casually as she could.

"A-ah well...I'm not entirely sure. I mean, I've heard rumors here and there but..." Kate was blushing and scratching the back at her head. Amicitia thought that this was strange but brushed it off.

"Well if you do ever learn anything, let me know. I'm really curious to know who they really are."

Astra jumped up onto Kate's lap at that moment and dug her claws into her leg. "Ouch! Astra, that wasn't very nice," she said, trying to talk to her like she would talk to a normal cat.

The feline gave her a look and she understood what she was trying to tell her. "Um, Marti, will you excuse me? I have to go to the bathroom."

Amicitia nodded and Kate got up. Astra followed her down the hall and she disappeared.

Kate and Astra went into the bathroom, and closed the door.

"I have a weird feeling about that girl, Kate. She has mixed vibes of good and evil when she was petting me," Astra said.

"Aw, come on, Astra. She's just new to this country. She needs a friend to get her comfortable with our customs."

"Well I would be careful if I were you. Especially because she was asking about the identities of the Sailor soldiers."

"So? She's curious," Kate defended.

"Very curious. And that mixed, with my general sense of foreboding about her, makes me believe that you need to watch your back with her."

"Alright, alright, I'll be careful. Let's go back out there with her."

Meanwhile, Amicitia had decided to do some exploring to learn about Kate. She took her backpack and started to look inside the main compartment. She saw the normal school amenities, notebooks, pencils, paper, but then her hand brushed against something metallic.

Amicitia pulled it out and found that it was a purple locket with a gold star in the middle. She turned the trinket over in her hands and wondered what it could possibly be. She started to open it, but when she cracked it just slightly, a raw familiar energy shot out and hit the opposite wall, but didn't leave a mark.

"Whoa! Where have I felt this before?" She was suddenly reminded of the mall the night before. "Could it be? Is Kate actually..."

She thought about what little she knew about the girl. She did sort of look like Sailor X, and she had gotten kind of nervous when asked who the Sailor soldiers really were. Not to mention the fact that Lisa also looked like that Sailor Sun. Perhaps she had been lucky enough to make friends with her target, making her job of eliminating her much easier.

But when she thought about killing Kate she suddenly felt a pang in her chest. She couldn't tell what that feeling was but it wasn't a good one. It was almost like she didn't want to get rid of her after all. Why did she feel this way?

Amicitia heard Kate returning from the bathroom and frantically put the locket back and ran back to the couch.

"Sorry about that. So where were we?"

"Actually, I just got a call from my mom. I have to go back home because she doesn't want me out of the house for long periods of time until she and my dad get here. But I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"But you just-"

"Sorry, gotta go, bye!" Amicitia got up and bolted out the door before Kate could say anymore.

"Well, that was rude," she said then sighed in defeat. "Oh well. She's still getting used to living here."

"I don't know, Kate. I would watch out for her."

"Yeah, yeah..."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Amicitia hadn't exactly been lying when she said she had to go home. She was returning to the place she lived. She ran down the hall to the throne room and burst through the doors. "Madam! I have good news!" She beamed at her queen, a little less brightly than usually.

"You had better. What is it?"

"I believe I have found a clue to who the Sailor soldiers might be."

"Ah, have you now?"

"Yes. I am not positive but if I am correct then we can have them defeated within this week!"

"Is that so? Well, for your sake I hope you are correct," Magnus hissed. "Arrange for your supposed Sailor soldiers to meet you somewhere and I shall send Enchanteur and Auxilium to assist you in their capture and defeat."

"Yes, Madam. As you wish." Amicitia bowed low and felt the pang in her chest again. A thought flashed in her mind. Maybe she wasn't doing the right thing after all. But she had no choice, unless she wanted to wind up dead herself.

She backed out of the throne room and returned to the common room to wait for the next day when she would put her final plan into action. To capture her new friend and kill her.


	14. Chapter 13

I told you summer would mean more uploads XD This chapter is also kind of fillerish, but it's got info and the start of action. Things are beginning to wrap up. The story should be done about halfway through July! I think I'll be putting up two chapters at a time from now on. Then I want to start on the sequel, which I won't give too many details about right now. Except that our American senshi are going to meet their Japanese counterparts...;D But I probably am going to write most of it now and post it throughout the fall and winter so this way I'll never be late :D Anyway please enjoy this chapter, and review! Love ya~!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 13: Changing Heart**

Amicitia was afraid to see Kate the next day at school. She knew that when she did, she would have to tell her to meet her, and her doom, in Central Park. Her life depended on it. Every time she thought about it, the pang returned to her chest.

She went to the school library, another source of infinite knowledge that she had discovered, and she went onto the magical machine that the Earthlings called a computer. She typed words into the box on the screen: 'Weird feeling in chest'.

Many links appeared on the screen, some talking about possible diseases or conditions, some talking about emotions such as love. But one stood out to her. It was called guilt.

Amicitia clicked on the word guilt and read the definition aloud to herself. "A feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, whether real or imagined." Immediately she knew that this was what she was feeling.

She realized she liked Kate, that she was a good person. Why did Magnus hate that? Kate had shown her nothing but kindness, something she had never gotten from anyone else. And now Amicitia got to repay her by leading her to her death.

With a heavy heart, she left the library and bumped into someone coming in. Unfortunately for her, it was just the person she had been thinking of.

"Woops, sorry! Oh, hey Marti! How are you? Did you get in trouble with your mom at all?" Kate asked.

"Oh, uh, no..." Amicitia gulped, knowing that it was now or never. "Hey Kate. I feel bad about running out on you. Would you want to meet me in the park after school today, say around 4? And bring Lisa too!"

"Sure! That sounds great! I think you'll like Central Park. It might remind you of the wilderness back in Blurshema."

"Blurshuema, right...Well, I'll see you later." Amicitia suddenly felt a choking feeling in her throat. She bolted away from Kate before she could say anything, as she felt her eyes start to water. Was this another part of _guilt_? Her eyes became so filled with extra water that they started to spill over and drops trailed down her cheeks. She hid in the bathroom and waited for the watering to stop.

Her wonderful plan was falling apart right in front of her. Or was it just her who was falling apart?

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate thought that Marti's appearance and disappearance was strange but didn't let it bother her much. She come fully into the library to find the book that she was looking for.

She went over to the computers to look the book up when she saw a head of black hair duck behind a shelf. She knew that hair anywhere and, her book forgotten, followed Sheldon down the aisle.

He was in the fiction section, looking at the romance novels. Not something that Kate had expected the man of her dreams to be looking at. She decided the best way to find out why he was browsing those titles was to ask him.

"Hey Sheldon," she whispered.

"Gah!" He jumped and dropped the books he was already holding. "Oh, Kate...You surprised me."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," she said, bending down to help him pick the books up. "I was just wondering what you were doing down here...in the romance section."

"Oh...well uh, it's a perfectly reasonable explanation. It's because..." His face had grown red and he was fidgeting slightly. "Ok. I'll tell you something if you want. But you cannot say a word to _anyone_! Not even Lisa. Got it?"

"Ok, my lips are sealed. What's up?" Kate had a feeling she knew what was on his mind, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

Sheldon's face turned a deeper red. "Well...I kind of...really like someone."

"Ooooo~! And just who would that be?" Kate asked, feeling her heart start to flutter in anticipation. How she hoped to God that he would say her.

"Well...she's not anyone you know. At least not personally. She's...No, I can't tell you! You'll think I'm a dork." Sheldon turned away to hide his embarrassment. Kate thought it was absolutely adorable he was getting so flustered over a girl. He was truly a gentleman.

"Sheldon, you know you can tell me anything and I won't judge you. You're my best friend! I promise I won't laugh at you."

"Ugh, ok...I like...Sailor X."

There was a pause of silence in which the words sank into her brain. Sheldon liked Sailor X. But didn't that mean he, by consequence, liked her? She was dumbfounded for a moment, but then she began to laugh. "You promised!" Sheldon did the impossible and turned even more red.

"No, no, no...It's not about you. It's just...irony." Kate calmed herself to a giggle, then looked at him a little more seriously. "There's nothing wrong with you liking her. After all, she's saved you a couple of times and she is really pretty."

"She's beautiful!" Kate swelled with happiness at the compliment, but then she remembered that they weren't really for her. "But she probably doesn't even remember me. I mean...she doesn't recognize me."

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

"Ok...I'll bet a lot of other guys like her too. But I she's probably got one in particular that she really likes." She winked at him.

"Any how do you know that person is me?" he asked, sounding defeated.

_Oh, I know better than you think. _"Because you're special! You stand out from the rest of the crowd and if she saw you...She would probably never forget you." Now it was Kate's turn to go tomato-red in the face.

"Wow Kate, that's really sweet. Thanks." He gave her a dashing smile, causing her to blush deeper.

"N-no problem." They fell into a silence and Kate thought about how unbelievable things had worked out. She may not have gotten Sheldon to like Kate, but he seemed to like Sailor X, and that was good enough for her.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

"Why do you expect me to go with you?" Lisa asked.

"Because," Kate said. "You've been pretty rude to Marti ever since she got here. It's time you make it up to her. She wants to be friends, she's just not sure how to go about it."

"Well _I_ don't want to. And even Astra said she didn't feel that great about her." Astra, who was sitting on the table, nodded in agreement.

"I wish I had been here when she was over," Jane said. "I'm usually very good about sensing that sort of thing. Stupid jury duty!"

"Well, whatever! You just have to give her a chance. Please, Lisa? For me?" Kate gave her the best puppy-dog face that she could, and Lisa rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"Ugh, fine! But if anything, ANYTHING, funny happens, that's it!" She slashed her hands out like a baseball umpire.

"Yay! Thank you!" Kate hugged her friend around the shoulders.

"But I still think that Granny and Bebe should be nearby, just in case."

"Fine, if that makes you happy. Just as long as you're going to be nice." Kate grabbed her brooch and put it in her pocket and strapped on her communicator watch. "Come on, let's go!"

"Be careful, dear. We'll be around," Jane said, kissing the top of her granddaughter's head. She then opened her own communicator and called Bebe. Kate and Lisa left first and grabbed a bus to the park.

They arrived at around 4:05 and Amicitia was standing at the entrance waiting for them.

"Hey Marti! I got Lisa to come like you wanted!" Kate ran up to the silver-haired girl and gave her a hug which she did not return.

"H-hey. Let's not stand around out here all night. Let's go in," Amicitia said, seeming nervous.

"Alright. Come on, Lisa." Lisa grumbled something and followed.

As the three girls walked through the park, Kate kept trying to keep up some kind of conversation, but it always ended in Amicitia trailing off and looking around or Lisa mumbling something incoherent. The further into the park they got, the less and less people they saw, until finally, there was no one around but them.

"Marti, you seem really worried. Is something bothering you?" Kate finally asked.

"N-nothing! Nothing is...well I mean something is...But really...Ugh, I can't do this anymore! Kate, you have to get out of here, it's a trap!"

"What?" Kate and Lisa both cried at once.

But her warning came too late. In a flash, two forms appeared in front of them, a girl and a boy. The girl reminded them of Veneficus, haiving a similar outfit and face, only with green hair and pink eyes. The boy was dressed in sparkling black pants and a blue and gold sequined shirt. His hair was also green, coming out of his head in spikes.

"Amicitia, you have done well. You actually got them to show," the girl said in a snarky tone.

"Amicitia? As in..." Kate turned to her with eyes full of hurt. Amicitia felt the guilt grow and couldn't bear to meet her violet eyes anymore. She bowed her head in shame and transformed into her green body suit. Kate gasped. "Marti...How could you?"

Amicitia stepped backwards to fall between the other two of Magnus's servants. "Oh, did you think she was on your side?" asked the boy in mock sympathy.

"We honestly didn't think she could pull this sort of thing off. After all, she has never been the most competent of Madam's workers," the girl said.

"Always too soft," the boy continued.

"But I guess we underestimated her. After all, the Sailor soldiers are quite a prize." Kate and Lisa looked to each other, then back at Amicitia.

"You knew? How?"

"I saw your locket in your backpack," she admitted not raising her head.

"And of course, the fact that you just confirmed it!" the girl laughed.

"She wasn't entirely sure! If you had kept your mouths shut, then perhaps you might have been able to leave in one piece. But since you didn't..." The boy raised his hands over his head and a ball of blue energy formed in his hands.

"Well, you creeps are forgetting one thing. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Lisa cried pointing frantically behind them. The three villains turned their heads and she grabbed Kate and ran.

"Granny and Bebe! We're in big trouble! It was a trap after all! We need help, NOW!" Lisa said into her watch.

"Roger that! We'll be there as soon as we can," Jane said.

"Whatever," was Bebe's response, and the screen went blank.

Lisa continued to run and urged Kate to move faster. "Come on! You can be sad and I can brag about being right later. For now, can we please move it!"

"I just can't believe it. I trusted her so easily. I really am an idiot." Kate's dejected attitude caused her to slow down. Her friend grabbed her hand once again and pulled.

"Please, can we just worry about survival for now?" Lisa said. "Wait a second. Why are we running when we can transform?"

"But I don't want to fight Marti..."

"Kate, she's not Marti! She's an evil person and we have to fight her, alright? Please!" She grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her face. Kate felt so depressed by the betrayal. But then she realized that she had to fight, to protect the city and finally defeat Magnus. She slowly turned that depression into anger, and that anger fueled her motivation.

She nodded slowly. "Ok. X Crystal Power..."

"Thata girl. Sun Crystal Power..."

"MAKE UP!"

By the time they had finished their transformations, Nova and North Star had found them. "Are you alright?" North Star asked of Sailor X.

"No. But she's about to learn her lesson for tricking me."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

_Keep running. Hurry up or it'll be too late._ He didn't know where his feet were taking him but he followed. All he knew for sure was that the Sailor girls were in trouble. And if they were in trouble, that meant that his princess was in trouble.

It was funny how he had no control over his powers as the Silver Knight. Sometimes it proved to be highly inconvenient, such as the night that he was trying to study for that really important biology test which he wound up failing. But what were grades when the girl he loved was in danger? He would never say that it wasn't worth it to somehow know instinctively to rush to her side and help to save her.

He found himself at the entrance to Central Park and remembered Kate mentioning something about meeting that Marti girl there with Lisa. That meant that his friends could be inside. They could be under attack. It only caused him to run faster to find the source of the problem.

Then again, she and Lisa had never been at the scene when there were any attacks before. He remembered the first one, how Kate had escaped because she was already at the front of the room. That was the first time he saw Sailor X. She was beautiful and surprisingly powerful. Not only that, but she gave him the strongest sense of de ja vu he had ever felt.

Words came to him. Princess, protection, silver knight, Xena, but they were all loose threads, incomplete strands that belonged to one large chunk that was missing from his mind.

And then of course he was knocked unconscious by the monster.

However, on the day of the next attack, the words suddenly returned to him and he found himself transforming. That was the day he became the Silver Knight for the first time. He had no idea why he had changed, or why he was being taken against his will to Macy's, but when he got there, he started to understand better. He had to help Sailor X, and he did his duty with pride.

With each time he transformed, he began to regain more and more of his memories. He realized that he didn't come from Earth, though he wasn't sure where exactly he did come from. He knew that whoever this enemy was, they were the same ones who ruined his planet the first time. He knew that Sailor X was a princess and that it was his job to protect her.

He also remembered liking her a great deal.

The Silver Knight hopped up on a lamp post where he could see the park better. He saw that toward an empty area there were five figures. Two of which he recognized well as his best friends. One of the others was Marti and the last two he had never seen before. Suddenly, Lisa and Kate were running away. He watched the other three for a moment, realizing that Marti must have been on the bad side after all, before dashing across the treetops to follow his friends.

When they finally stopped, he crouched on a branch and listened. "...have to fight her alright? Please!" Lisa said.

There was a pause and then Kate said, "Ok. X Crystal Power..."

"Thata girl. Sun Crystal Power..."

"MAKE UP!"

The Silver Knight couldn't believe his ears. He pushed open the leaves to watch as his friends transformed into Sailor X and Sun. After a moment Sailor North Star and the new girl Sailor Nova appeared. The Knight's mouth fell open when he realized that Nova was actually Bebe, though he didn't know who North Star could be.

Suddenly the Silver Knight felt somewhat embarrassed. He had thought that he was just telling his friend a secret when he was talking to Kate earlier that day. He hadn't realized that he was actually confessing to the girl he liked face to face.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

The Sailor soldiers faced the direction their enemies would be coming from. Slowly the three henchmen approached, stopping a few yards away to make the scene look like a Western showdown.

"Well, you know who we are," Sailor X said. "Isn't it only polite to introduced yourselves?"

"Of course. Where _are_ my manners? I'm only an evil servant to a maniacal queen," the girl said. "But if you must know, my name is Enchanteur. This is my partner Auxilium. And of course, you already know Amicitia." She smirked at the last part.

"Unfotunately," Sun said.

"This will be your last stand, Sailor soldiers. There is no way you can defeat us." Enchanteur locked arms with Auxilium and they both thrust their hands out together. The Sailor soldiers braced themselves, ready for anything that they could possibly throw at them. And the Silver Knight watched silently, waiting for the moment when he would need to strike.

Little did any of them know that there was one other person watching the action through burgundy eyes.


	15. Chapter 14

Alright! Finally some action! This is a juicy chapter, and I really hope you enjoy it! This will also be the final battle before the Senshi of America face Magnus directly. Exciting! At least I hope that you think so. Please enjoy and review! Love ya~!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 14: Xena's Soldiers Reunited At Last  
**

"Frustro Cups and Ball!" cried Enchanteur and Auxilium at the same time. Three large blue cups and one giant red ball formed in the air. As they fell toward the ground the ball went underneath the middle cup. It lifted slightly and the ball, which now had a face, peeked underneath and said, "Watch me! Watch me! Catch me if you can!" It put the cup down and they began to shift at an extremely fast pace.

Sailor Sun and North Star had their eyes glued to the cups while Sailor X and Nova were starting to get dizzy.

"Where am I?" came a muffled call from under the left-most cup.

Sailor Sun nodded in the direction of the cup and looked at North Star who gave her a sign of agreement. She then ran up and tipped the cup over with her staff but there was nothing underneath. "Oops! Sorry! Try again!"

The cup on the opposite end of the three lifted to reveal the ball.

"How is that even possible?" North Star said.

"That's cheating!"

"It's like you don't expect us to act like villains!" Auxilium said, exasperatedly. "Cheating is what we do best."  
The ball tipped the cup over completely and began to spit little white balls at the Sailor soldiers. However, they didn't even come anywhere close to hitting them.

Nova threw back her head and laughed. "Were you trying to hit us?" she taunted. But before she could say anymore, there was a faint hissing coming from the balls. Looking down, everyone noticed little fuses on the balls. "They're BOMBS!"

Sailor Sun ran in front of them all and swept them away with her staff before crying out, "Ozone Shield!" and creating an orange force field around her team. The bombs exploded, causing a huge cloud of smoke to obscure everything.

When everything was clear the cups were shifting again. Sun let down her shield and cried out another attack. "Extreme Meltdown!"

Sun's attack hit straight on, but there wasn't a scratch on the cups. "No way!"

"That's right! I'm indestructible! Catch me if you can!"

"Alright, that's really starting to piss me off." Nova turned to Sailor X, "Let's give it a shot." Sailor X was surprised by her volunteering, but nevertheless, agreed. "Nova Explosion!" Nova shot her attack high in the air. Sailor X waited for it to fall a little before adding an attack of her own.

"X Hidden Beam!" She shot her purple ray to at the blue ball of energy and turned it to an indigo. It flew toward the center cup and exploded in a burst of flaming purple energy. However, there was still absolutely no damage on the cups.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Nova stomped her foot on the ground in frustration.

"Starshine Blast!" North Star tried, but to no avail.

"Just face it. It's impossible to break these things!" Sun said. One of the cups raised again as she said this and spit out more bombs. Sun got rid of them again and put up her shield.

"We can't just keep running from this thing forever though! There has to be a way to stop it," Sailor X said.

"There might be," said a new voice. Everyone turned to face it and found Amicitia standing behind them.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

The Silver Knight watched as the Sailor soldiers tried in vain to defeat the latest Frustro. He thought that soon it might be time for him to step in, although they didn't seem to be directly in danger. He smiled as he mused at how quickly they were improving.

He watched as they paused to discuss a plan of action, and that Marti girl came over to them and started talking. Sun looked as if she were about to take her out right then and there. The Silver Knight was about to join them when he heard a voice below.

"Sheldon! What are you doing?"

He recognized it immediately and his heart froze in terror. What was his cousin doing here? "Um...I'm sorry little girl. I don't know who you're talking to. Please go away!"

"Oh cut it out, I know it's you! I saw you transform," she said.

He looked down and saw Mia at the base of the tree trunk, looking up at him and waiting for an explanation. "Mia! You can't be here right now!" He jumped down and stood next to her. "It's way too dangerous. Did you follow me?"

"Yes I did. I wanted to know where you keep randomly disappearing to. I didn't know that you knew the Sailor soldiers," she said.

"Well, I don't really know them. I just help them."

"A commendable occupation. I want to help them too, though."

"Everyone wants to help them. But this isn't the place for innocent civilians. Please go home where it's safe!" he begged.

"No, Sheldon, I mean I feel like I should be out there too! Fighting alongside of them. It's just this...gut feeling." Mia closed her eyes and put her hands over her heart. Suddenly, a sign appeared on her forehead; a small orange ball with a red fire tail.

"Mia...Are you a Sailor soldier too?"

"Huh?" She opened her eyes and the sign vanished. "Not that I know of."

"But I do." Mia and the Silver Knight turned to see Astra walking up to them. "Mia, you are the last of the Sailor soldiers. You are Sailor Comet!"

"Why am I not surprised to see a talking cat?" the Silver Knight asked no one in particular.

"Me? A Sailor soldier?"

"Yes! Here, take this." Astra backflipped and a new locket appeared, in the same shape as the sign on Mia's forehead. "And I want you to say 'Comet Crystal Power, Make up'."

"Ok. Comet Crystal Power, Make up!" In a bright flash of red, Mia was replaced with Sailor Comet. She looked from Astra to the Silver Knight to herself in awe. "Wow...This is unreal! How did that even work?"

"Maybe I can explain the physics of it to you later. For now, you need to join with the rest of the Sailor soldiers and help them!"

The Silver Knight and Comet looked to each other and nodded and walked out of the brush to complete their team.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Everyone stared at Amicitia in shock. "I snuck over here before the smoke cleared," she explained.

"You! Traitor!" Sun shouted and aimed her staff at her face. "How could you take Kate's trust and just throw it away?"

"You're right. I don't deserve your trust or friendship. I sold you out. But you don't understand! Magnus would have killed me!" She dropped to her knees, tears coming out of her eyes.

Sailor X pushed Sun's staff away and looked down on the girl she thought was her friend. "Anyone else would have died rather than betrayed their friends. I tried so hard to be nice to you," she said quietly.

"I know! And I am truly sorry! I now understand where I want to be and who I want to be loyal to. I know that it's too late and you should never want to see me again, but let me help you, to at least try and make up for my actions."

"How do we know we can trust you?" North Star asked, eying her suspiciously.

"You don't. But wouldn't you rather take the chance than fight to your death?" Amicitia looked pleadingly at all the Sailor soldiers.

Sailor X bowed and shook her head. "I shouldn't believe you and I know it. But I do. How do we beat them?"

Amicitia smiled and stood up. "Thank you! Ok. You may not be able to defeat the cups, but if you directly attack Enchanteur and Auxilium, the cups will disappear. And then you can finish them off."

"Well, I guess that would make sense," Sun said.

"Yeah, but those cups alone were totally impossible to kill. We'd need like, a super powerful attack to kill those freaks," Nova said.

"She's right. What if there was some way to combine our attacks?" North Star suggested.

"I've never tried anything like that before," Sailor X said. "Do you think there's a way?"

"There is now!" another new voice sounded and everyone turned their heads to see Astra with the Silver Knight and what looked like a new Sailor soldier. Her uniform color was a fiery red and she had long indigo hair.

"Silver Knight! And no way, the last member of our team!" Sailor X ran forward and hugged the new girl. "Who are you?"  
"I'm Sailor Comet!" she said. "And I'm here to help!"

"Yes, now that all of us are together, we can finally use the Celestial Attack!" Astra announced. "It's an attack that combines all the powers of the team and channels it into Sailor X who then blasts the enemy. It should be a one-hit deal on those two. It's just that..."

"What?"

"Well, we've never tested it before. We never had the chance back home," she admitted a little worried.

"I don't think we have much of a choice! Look, the cup is about to spit bombs again," North Star said. Sailor Sun repeated her deflection and protection actions for the third time.

"Alright. Let's do this while the cups are busy shuffling," Sailor X said, but it was then that the cups decided to change their strategy.

"Oh, you aren't very good at this game! Maybe it's time we mix you up instead!" One of the cups jumped high into the air and fell over Sailor X and Nova. Another trapped North Star, Amicitia, and Astra, and the last one covered Sun, Comet, and the Silver Knight.

"Now let's shuffle!" The cups started moving and throwing the Sailor soldiers around, slamming them into the sides and making them extremely dizzy.

"I can't handle this..." Nova said, sounding queezy. "I think I'm gonna hurl!'

"Nova, please hold back for a second. X Hidden Beam!" Sailor X blasted the top of the cup and actually made a hole through it. "Hey, they must be weaker on the inside!"

"Then let's get this thing to spit us up before I do! Nova Explosion!" Nova's attack melted through the cup and the two girls dived through to the outside. "I am, like, NEVER going on carnival rides again."

"Everyone!" Sailor X shouted. "They're weak on the inside! Attack!"

"Got it! Extreme Meltdown!"

"Fire Shower!"

"Starshine Blast!"

Openings were made in the other two cups and everyone jumped out. The cups finally stopped moving and fell over.

"Now I think we have a chance! Secret Star Magic!" Sailor X waved her wand at the cups but only caused minimal damage.

"We need to do the Celestial Attack. Everyone say your soldier name followed by 'Crystal Power' and when they've given you all their power, Sailor X, say 'X Star Power'."

"Right! Sun Crystal Power!"

"Nova Crystal Power!"

"Comet Crystal Power!"

"North Star Crystal Power!"

An aura surrounded each of the Sailor soldiers and slowly the energy coming off of them found it's way to Sailor X. She felt their power fill her to almost bursting.

Suddenly, as she was about to say her part, a golden light started to shine in her pocket. The little pen that she had been given by the mysterious voice floated out in front of her and she felt the instinct to grab it.

As soon as she made contact with it, she cried, "X Star Power, Make up!"

Sailor X hovered above the rest of the team and her uniform began to change. Everything that was once purple on her uniform turned to a frosty white. The tiara on her head was replaced with a gold star. She had dangling silver star earrings and long flowing ribbons trailing from behind her. The gold pen and her wand morphed together and turned into a long staff.

Sailor X, now Sailor Star, opened her eyes, looking more determined than ever. "It's time to finish this." She turned towards Enchanteur and Auxilium who were now looking somewhat frightened. Grasping her newly formed staff, she felt words come to her. Looking up to the heavens she began her new attack. "Shining stars of the great Milky Way, give me the strength to defeat this foe through your gorgeous starlight. Silver Starlight Magic!"

A blinding silver light flowed from the staff straight at Enchanteur and Auxilium. Their bodies began to quiver as if a dimensional rift were forming over top of them. The two of them screamed, "ENCORE!" before they, and the cups, dissolved into the air.

Everything went silent. Slowly, Sailor Star drifted back down to Earth. Her uniform began to fade back into her regular clothes. She swayed and started to fall. The Silver Knight dashed forward and caught her, falling to his knees. She clutched at her head and opened her eyes to little slits. "Wow, that really took a lot out of me."

Astra padded up to Kate looking puzzled. "Naturally. Though you weren't supposed to undergo that second transformation. That pen you have is quite strange."

"I still haven't figured out what it's for. But I guess it's a good thing that I have it, if it was able to defeat those guys," she said, standing shakily.

Nova, Sun, and North Star pulled their brooches off to change back. "So Kate's Sailor X? And Lisa, Bebe, and Kate's grandma are soldiers too?" Comet asked in surprise.

"Yes, it's us," Lisa replied. "Who are you?"

"Well..." Comet took her brooch off and transformed back into Mia.

"Mia!" Kate exclaimed. "Oh, now I understand! That's why you had such a strong energy when I touched you."

"Yes. I only just discovered my powers tonight, but I suppose they were there the whole time." She smiled warmly.

"Well if anyone was going to be our final member, I'm glad it's you," Lisa said. "Especially since our last addition was less-than-desirable."

"Um, hello! I'm right here!" Bebe said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Exactly."

Kate, Mia, and Jane giggled. Then all five girls turned to the Silver Knight expectantly. He looked back at them through his long black bangs and wondered if he shouldn't just run away like usual. But Mia knew who he was, she would tell them anyway. He might as well just show them now.

"Well, considering that we all just so happen to be friends already, my revelation shouldn't be that shocking." He pulled off his mask and his knight armor faded away.

"Sheldon?" Kate gasped.

"Yeah, it's me." The boy blushed and scratched the back of his neck. Kate realized that he must be embarrassed. He hadn't known that Kate was Sailor X and he had confessed his love for her directly to her. She decided not to mention it in front of everyone, but made a note to bring it up to him later.

"This has to be the strangest and most convenient coincidence ever. We've all known each other for the entire time that we've been on Earth," Lisa commented.

"True. Even though Mia wasn't here, Sheldon still knew her as his cousin," Bebe agreed.

"Well, I sort of planned it that way," Astra admitted. "I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't be too far apart should you need to be reawakened."

"That makes sense," they all said as one.

Kate then looked around and realized that someone was missing. "Hey, where did Marti go?"

Everyone turned around in circles, looking for the girl, except for Lisa. She threw her head back and groaned. "Kate, after all she did I can't believe you would even care where she went! I hope she gets hit by a car or that Magnus kills her or something!"

"Lisa, she did help us in the end. And she had a change of heart. I'll bet I can heal her so that she's completely pure and can start over again. Come on, we have to find her!"

"No need," Amicitia said, stepping out from behind a tree. "I'm sorry. I hid when you were talking before. I thought it would be weird if I were standing and watching you." She gulped and came closer to Kate. "Can you ever forgive me, Kate? I know what I did was awful, but I would be honored if you would try to change me!"

Kate simply smiled and pulled her locket out. "X Crystal Power, Make up!" She transformed once again and pulled out her wand. "I just hope that I have a power that just heals."

"I think I know the right one," Astra said. "Just say 'Starlight Healing Shower'."

Sailor X shrugged. "If you say so. Starlight Healing Shower!" Out of the top of her wand, a white gold light bathed Amicitia and she slowly rose above the ground a few inches. She spun and as she did she changed.

Her green bodysuit was transformed into a light green dress. Her silver hair flowed around her, becoming lighter and shinier. Her eyes softened to a forest green. Slowly she descended and the light faded. Sailor X couldn't hold her transformation any longer, still weak from the Celestial Attack, and changed back to Kate.

Amicitia looked at her hands in awe. A grin spread across her face and her eyes lit up. "Kate, I think you did it! I feel amazing!" She ran to her friend and embraced her, loving the feelings inside of her.

"Marti, I'm so happy! You can finally be good! Or should I call you by your real name?" Kate asked.

Amicitia shook her head. "That person is gone. If I'm going to start fresh, I need a new name."

"Marti it is then!" And the two hugged again.

"But if you ever do anything like that again," Lisa warned. "There will be no mercy. Your punishment will come straight from me."

Marti gulped. "I believe you. But don't worry, I'm not going to risk my friends again."

"Well, since all that is settled, let's head back to the apartment. I think we have some things to discuss. Especially because we now have an ally who was on the inside," Astra said, and she led them back to the Astrum residence.


	16. Chapter 15

Plot points galore! Not really a lot of action here but a lot of development. As always, though, I hope you enjoy it. Next chapter...well it might make the rating go up a little XD Anyway, please review and I'll see you soon with the final two chapters and the epilogue! :D Love ya~!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 15: The Battle Looms Ahead**

The group returned to Kate's apartment and all gathered in the living room. "Well, I am quite glad that we are all together finally. It means that we're just that much stronger against Magnus and her forces," Astra said, standing on the coffee table in front of everyone.

"Now, I think that since we have Marti, we should find out as much as we can about Magnus. We need to know just how powerful she is and what her motives are."

"Well, the second one is easy," Marti said, standing to face them. "Magnus is collecting energy to create a 'cure' for goodness. She thinks that if she has enough good energy that she can make a vaccine that makes people evil. And once everyone is evil, and by consequence on her side, then she can take over the world."

"It's the same way that doctors use the actual germs they're trying to prevent in shots," Mia said. "She's using the good to try to figure out what can kill it."

"Well, we can assume that she hasn't worked on it much since we've thwarted all her attacks," Kate said.

"That's not true...She has a supply from when she destroyed Xena," Marti said.

"What?" everyone cried as one.

"But that's impossible! She...killed everyone." Kate felt a lump in her throat as she said the last part.

"She was taking energy before they died, and there are ways to extract more after a person is dead." Marti bowed her head in shame. "I hate to have ever been a part of it."

"That's all behind us now, dear," Jane comforted her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Now, do you have any idea how large this store is?"

"Not a clue. She keeps everything very well hidden. But I'm sure that she can't be far away from a breakthrough in her 'research'."

"Well, that just means we have to kick her ass before she can do anything more," Lisa said, pounding a fist into her palm. "How do we get to her?"

"I don't know if I can take you anymore. I don't think I have the ability to teleport back to the Empire."

"Well, that sucks. Oh well, I guess we can't go." Bebe shrugged and got up like she was going to leave.

"Bebe, wait a second. You don't think we're gonna give up that easily do you?" Everyone turned to Bebe and Kate thought that she saw a flash of fear in her eyes, but it was too quick to tell.

"No," she said, with her normal air of confidence. "But I think the whole thing is ridiculous. We shouldn't be pursuing someone who wants us dead."

"We have no choice. We have to defeat Magnus or the whole universe will be in danger," Sheldon said.

"If you're scared, Bebe, it's ok to say," Kate said. "It is scary to think about taking on a tyrannical maniac bent on controlling everyone by eliminating goodness in the world. So we wouldn't think any differently of you. We're all friends now." She noticed Lisa rolling her eyes and elbowed her.

Bebe's ice blue eyes softened for a fraction of a second, before she sat back down in a huff. "I don't think so. Bebe Novántoni doesn't get scared of anything. I'll take on that stupid Magma or whatever her name is."

"Well, it's going to be difficult if we can't directly teleport there. Do you have any idea where the place is located?" Astra asked, turning back to Marti.

"I had to go through a few different dimensions to go back and forth. I would recognize the path if we could get into a warp hole," Marti answered.

"How can we do that?" Mia wondered.

"There might be a way," Astra said, flicking her tail in thought. "There was a device in the palace on Xena that was said to be able to transport you into the in between space where you could access all dimension. I believe it was a mirror. I never saw it used; no one had the need."  
"What makes you think that it would still be there?"

"I can't be entirely positive that it is. But there is a possibility so I think that we should try to teleport to Xena and look for it."

"Oh, so now you want us to go to an uncharted planet that's, like, all old and deserted to try to find some crazy mirror that might not even be there anymore?" Bebe looked as if she were about to get up to leave again, but instead she shrugged and said, "I'm game."

"Me too," Mia said.

"Count me in," added Lisa.

"Well, I'm certainly not letting you go alone," Jane said.

"And I'll be going too of course," Sheldon agreed.

Kate looked around at her team, her friends, and couldn't help but smile. They were all willing to come together and fight the enemy as one, even with all the risks. She was proud to be a part of this group. They were a family now.

"Then it's settled. We go to Xena and find that mirror, then find our way to Magnus and destroy her," Kate said, throwing her fist into the air.

A chorus of "Yeah!" filled the apartment, and Kate was glad her mother was out so that she wouldn't wonder what was going on.

"Alright. Now I think that we should put in a little training time just to hone your skills, especially in the case of Bebe and Mia who are more new to this," Astra said.

"I agree. You can all benefit from a little practice. After all, it took me many years to get to where I am now," said Jane.

"Yeah, we could have guessed that easily Granny," Lisa teased.

"Why you little brat!"

The group laughed and continued discussing their plan of action for an hour or two. Then they decided that they would make arrangements for place and time the next day and everyone started to leave. Kate offered Marti the couch since she had nowhere else to go.

"Kate, you are too good of a friend."

Sheldon was the last one left, but before Kate let him go, she asked him if she could have a private word. "Sure," he said, and they stepped into the hall alone.

"So, um...Where do we stand now?" she asked, blushing.

"What do you mean?" His face flushed mirroring hers.

"Well you told me that you like Sailor X...And now you know that I'm her..." she trailed off as the conversation instantly became for awkward.

"Oh! Oh...Kate, I-"

"I know this must be weird! It's totally different from me finding out you were the Silver Knight because I-" She hesitated for a moment before finishing her thought. "I like you and knowing that you're the Silver Knight doesn't make a difference."

"Yeah...But I don't really like you that way, and now knowing that you're Sailor X...I feel a little confused." Kate felt her heart tear in two and tears were already pooling in her eyes.

"N-no, I understand..." she choked out.

"I'm really sorry, Kate. I love you, but as a friend. And I don't know how things were back on Xena, but it's different now." She nodded solemnly. "We're always going to be friends. That may not be good enough now, but someday you'll find someone even better than me!"

Kate looked back up and him with a teary smile. "No...I won't." She turned and went back into the apartment, straight to her room, and fell to the bed with her face buried in her pillow. Astra, Jane, and Marti tried to get in and comfort her, but she ignored them, and eventually they left her alone. She continued to sob into her pillow until she had cried herself to sleep.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

It was a few hours before Magnus realized that she was alone in her Empire. She had had a feeling that Amicitia might turn to the other side, seeing as she was so different from the others and spending so much time on Earth. But she hadn't thought that Enchanteur and Auxilium would be so easily defeated. "That can only mean that the Sailor soldiers are getting stronger..."

She almost felt worried but not enough to show on her face. She stood from her throne and walked to her many torture devices. Pulling out one particular sword, she caused the throne to turn and reveal a secret passage which she entered.

Down a dark corridor there was another door through which she went. On the other side was what looked like a secret laboratory. Viles, beakers, and glass tubes were everywhere and multicolored liquids filled most of them.

"Well," Magnus said, approaching the chemistry set. "It looks as if I'll be having company soon. Little do they know that this battle will be their last. Hear me well, Sailor soldiers. It's time for you to say your prayerssss," she hissed out the last s and burst into maniacal laughter that echoed around the chamber.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

The Sailor soldiers spent the next few days training whenever they got the chance. They practiced group teleporting and even discovered that they had some powers that they didn't know before.

Kate and Sheldon were awkward around each other since the night they talked. Kate tried to be as cheerful as possible so as not to make him think that she was upset, but it was hard to hide around Lisa who knew her too well.

"Look Kate," she said. "You should just get over him! He's one of our best friends and you wouldn't want a romance to ruin your relationship, right?"

"I know...I just care too much about him. It's because he's my best friend. I know him so well and love everything about him. This isn't just a normal crush."

"Everyone says that, Kate. But in a few years, you'll look back and think that you were being silly for saying that."

"Maybe...But right now it's hard to get over him when we have to spend so much time together." She slumped her shoulders and sighed.

"I know. But it'll get better. I promise. Why don't you channel all that negative energy into your fighting? It might make you feel better."

"I'll try."

Kate found that Lisa was right, and using her sadness to fuel her powers helped a little. But every time she thought about that night she felt her heart break just a little more.

Finally, Astra felt that the team was prepared enough to set the plan into action. As the evening fell they made their way to the rooftop of the Webster building. From there they could see the gorgeous sunset skyline of their beautiful city. "They're all counting on you," Astra said. Everyone nodded in determination.

"Unfortunately, I cannot make the journey with you, being that you already have to use extra power to take Marti with you. I wish you luck. If I remember correctly, the mirror should be somewhere around the grand foyer of the palace. Though who knows where it might have been moved in the destruction."

"Thank you Astra," Kate said. "We won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Alright everyone. As we practiced."

The group circled up and Kate began with, "X Crystal Power, Make up!"

"Sun Crystal Power, Make up!"

"Nova Crystal Power, Make up!"

"Comet Crystal Power, Make up!"

"Aurora Lights Power, Make up!"

Sheldon pulled out his mask and tied it on, causing him to transform as well. Then the team took hands and concentrated their powers. "X Crystal Power!"

"Sun Crystal Power!"

"Nova Crystal Power!"

"Comet Crystal Power!"

"North Star Crystal Power!"

Columns of light surrounded each person, the colors corresponding with that of their uniform theme. Marti had her eyes closed and looked as if she were trying to do any small amount that she could to help them.

"Good luck, Sailor soldiers!" Astra called.

"SAILOR TELEPORT!" the circle cried and in a blinding white flash, they disappeared.

Navigating through the universe, Sailor X and her team came upon a desolate planet. They landed in the middle of a dried out field. "I guess...this is it." She led them towards what looked like a city. The buildings were in shambles or had been completely obliterated. There were dead bodies half-decayed and rotting.

"This is disgusting!" Nova said, bringing her hands close to her chest in fear of touching anything.

"It is truly devastating..." Comet murmured.

"Let's just get to the palace so we can get out of here," Sun said. "I think that's it over there." She pointed to a building that was still mostly standing, looming over the rest of the lost city.

As they came closer they saw less bodies and more signs of battle. Scorch marks, piles of rubble, fallen towers, and the like could be found all over the castle grounds. It was a relief to not see any more of the innocent civilians who had lost their lives those four years ago.

Finally the team entered the palace itself. What hadn't been destroyed was still beautiful, and Sailor X felt waves of nostalgia wash over her. "How I wish..." she trailed off, knowing the others understood what she wanted to say. _How I wish it hadn't ended this way._

The Sailor soldiers, Silver Knight, and Marti walked through the ruined palace, stepping over the debris and trying to find their way to the grand foyer. "It should be somewhere around here, if my knowledge of these kinds of castles is correct," Comet said.

Sure enough, they soon happened upon a large room which led off to many different hallways. And against the far wall was a large and undamaged mirror, covered in a thin layer of dust.

Sailor X ran up to the mirror and blew on it to clear it off. It was full length with a wide hourglass shape to it, and was trimmed in an intricately detailed gold. The rest of the group gathered around. "Well, if this is the mirror, how do we use it?"

Sailor X looked at her reflection in the mirror and brought up her right hand. Slowly, she moved it toward the glass, connecting her middle finger with her reflection's, before adding the rest of them and then her palm.

Suddenly, the glass shattered and fell away, but instead of the shards landing on the floor, they dissolved into thin air. Where the mirror had been was now a gaping hole filled with swirling colors.

"You did it!" the Silver Knight gasped.

"Don't ask me how. I had no idea that that would do anything," Sailor X said.

"Come on! I can't stand to be on this dirty hell-hole anymore!" Nova said impatiently.

"Alright fine. Everyone take hands. Marti, come up here so you can lead us." Marti came to the front of the line and grabbed Sailor X's hand. She stepped through the frame, leading the team behind her.

When the last person was in, the portal back to Xena closed and they were trapped in the vortex of colors, floating as there were no surfaces to stand on. "Great, I'm gonna be sick again!" Nova complained. She squeezed her eyes shut trying not to see the dizzying display in front of her.

"Hmm..." Marti, completely used to this sort of thing, was unphased by the lack of stability in the space. She turned around and around looking for the right way to go. "I think it's...this way!"

Marti pulled them along and they felt almost as if they were swimming. She led them into a whirlpool and they spiraled downward, clinging to each other tightly so as not to lose each other.

They were spit out in a long, dark hallway. Marti stood easily and shuddered at the sight of her surroundings. "I've never really liked coming down here."

Everyone else was on the ground clutching their heads and moaning from their spinning adventure. They stood on wobbly legs and shook off the feelings of nausea. "This is it gang!" Sailor X whispered. "Magnus is here, down this hall. It's now or never. Let's do this!"

She put out her hand and waited for the rest of the team to put theirs in as well. "For Xena on three. One, two, three!"

"FOR XENA!" they whisper shouted and threw their hands in the air. Then they turned to the corridor and looked ahead to the tiny sliver of light where they knew Magnus would be waiting.


	17. Chapter 16

Ok. Before you read this...I don't have any mental issues XD I'm not a psychopath, I promise. I just like drama and dark stuff sometimes. I think it adds more flavor. I have to say, when I looked back on my first version of this battle, it was kinda lame XD So I spiced things up and now I hope that you enjoy it even if it's slightly gory. It's tasteful though! At least I hope you think so XD Please read and review and then read the next chapter! I promise it'll get better XD Love ya~!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 16: Immortal, Invincible, Undefeatable**

Cautiously, the seven walked down the hallway and reached the big dark door at the end. It was slightly cracked open and Sailor X tried to peek inside. Before she could get her eyes close, the door suddenly flew open and just missed slamming into her face by millimeters.

"I expected your arrival..." a female voice sounded from the shadows. "Let us not play silly games. Come in, let us not beat around the bush. We must get on with this so I can get back to world domination."

A woman stepped out of the darkness at the other side of the room. She was tall and wearing a long hooded cloak. Sailor X was immediately reminded of the day Xena was destroyed, and with the images of the devastation fresh in her mind from their journey, she felt anger begin to boil in her blood.

Bone-thin white hands pulled back the hood to reveal long white hair and blood red eyes set into a pale face. She wore a spiked crown atop her head. Marti gasped at her appearance, not ever having seen more than a silhouette of her former queen.

"And so we finally meet again, Sailor soldiers. You've saved me the trouble of finding you by coming here yourself. Ah, but you brought my former slave...An unwise decision." Magnus waved a hand and Marti was thrown into the back wall.

"Marti!" everyone cried. She let out a groan and slid to the floor, unconscious.

"I'm feeling a bit merciful today. I am sure that you know I could just as easily have killed her, which I should have after her betrayal. But she just _might_ survive. I cannot say the same for you." Her evil laughter filled the room, bouncing around the walls.

"Why are you doing this? What has anyone done to you to make you feel that you must take it out on the world?" Sailor Comet asked, trying to reason with her.

"No one has done anything. Except be in the way of me taking over the universe," Magnus stated matter-of-factually.

"We're not about to stand down so easily!" Sailor X stepped forward. "You're not going do what you did to our precious planet to anyone else. We are the Xena team!"

"And in vengeance of our planet..." Sailor Sun took a step.

"And for all of our new-found friends and family on Earth..." Sailor Nova added.

"We will not let you get away with this!" Sailor Comet said.

"I suggest you prepare for the fight of your life." Sailor North Star finished.

Magnus laughed again, as if she thought the whole idea was a joke. "I am ready for the challenge. I'll take you on and defeat you each one by one." She opened her hand and a sword flew into it. "Who would like to be the first?"

The Silver Knight unsheathed his own weapon. "I will be your opponent." Sailor X felt all the blood drain from her face as she thought about the possibility him being pierced by Magnus's sword.

"Knight, are you sure?" she asked worriedly. "Don't you think it would be better if we all fought together?"

"No. I have a feeling that this is the way it's supposed to be. Besides, I can take her. It's just like fencing, only a lot more dangerous," he chuckled, which did nothing to reassure her or the rest of the team.

"Be careful, Sheldon," Comet warned. "Don't get too arrogant."

"Don't worry about me. I'm ready when you are, Magnus!" The Silver Knight took his stance and waited.

"Excellent. En garde!" Magnus swung her sword and would have got the Silver Knight had he not put up his shield, which she wound up cutting in two. He gulped and quickly removed the pieces from his arm. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take her on by himself. But he couldn't back down now. He had to finish what he started. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself to make a move.

When the Silver Knight swung in return Magnus blocked it with her own sword and they clanged together. When he pulled back his sword, she swung from the side attempting to slice him in half. Jumping out of the way, he struck from above, trying to spear her. She retaliated with lightning speed and brought her sword above her to prevent the blow from striking.

The shining blades kept flying and clanking together for what seemed like hours. The two seemed too evenly matched. "Give it up, worthless knight, lest I cut you in two!" Magnus cried.

"I'll never give up. I will avenge my planet and the innocent people you killed. I will defend everyone with honor!" The Silver Knight attacked with more ferocity and managed to stab Magnus in the leg. There was a pause as Magnus looked at the sword sticking out of her thigh. The Silver Knight pulled it out and smirked as she wobbled and fell to her knees.

The Silver Knight turned back to his team who were all smiling at this first blow for the side of justice, and gave them a thumbs up. But suddenly, Sailor X noticed that Magnus's sword was hovering over his head.

"WATCH OUT!" she screamed, but it was too late. As he turned around, the blade came down through his chest. The world around Sailor X froze as she watched the boy she loved fall backwards in slow motion. Everyone rushed forward and tried to catch him as he was about to his the ground.

He breathed heavily as he fell into the arms of his cousin. "Sheldon! Sheldon, hang on! Please!" She shook him gently as her eyes filled with tears, mirroring everyone else's.

Sailor X found the use of her legs and came to kneel close to The Silver Knight's head. She looked into his amber eyes and saw them start to fade. "Sheldon? Are you still with us? Please, don't leave me!" She brushed his sweaty black bangs off his forehead.

The Silver Knight coughed harshly and blood tricked out of the side of his mouth. He smiled weakly. "I'm...sorry..." he whispered, barely audible.

Magnus cackled wildly. "I warned you, did I not? Now I have one down and only five to go." She came forward to draw her sword out of the Silver Knight's body. Blood gushed from the wound and it only made the girls cry harder. She looked into his face with an evil grin.

"I'm...not done with you..." The Silver Knight wheezed, each word seeming to bring him closer to death. Then he made a sudden movement, Magnus gasped, and there was a sound of metal piercing skin. Red liquid spewed from the injury, splattering the team. The Silver Knight's eyelids then fluttered closed and he went limp in Comet's arms. A bigger sob chocked her and she fell over the body of her cousin.

Unable to look at the horrifying scene any longer, Sailor X made her eyes follow the blade of the sword to see that it was sheathed in Magnus's chest.

The evil queen staggered back and clutched at the wound. She pulled the sword out, pointed it to the ground and leaned on it, panting and bleeding. The others turned to look at her, smug with their bittersweet victory.

"How worthless is he now, Magnus? He just killed you in one shot," Sun shouted defiantly.

But to their surprise, Magnus began to laugh. Her laughter grew from a small giggle into a full-blown roar. "You really thought that a silly flesh wound like this would stop me? Did I not mention that I am invincible?"

The blood on Magnus's front caked the hole closed and she stood straight again. "Who will face me next?"

"Impossible!" North Star whispered. "How can she still be living after being stabbed in the heart?"

"She has no heart..." Nova said, sounding dangerous. "You monster! I'm not going to let Sheldon die in vain! I'll be your next challenger!"

"Well, well. Someone cared deeply for the little tin man. I can see it in your eyes girl. Did you have feelings for him?" Sailor X looked over to Nova and noticed a blush on her cheeks. Could it be possible that she wasn't the only one with a crush on the late boy? But of all people, Bebe? She had never struck Sailor X as anything more than a one-night stand kind of girl. Perhaps there was more to her than she thought. She just wished they would survive to find out.

"What does it matter whether I like him as a friend or more? I'm still going to kill you!" she answered hotly.

"So am I!" Comet said, getting up and giving Sheldon's body to Sailor X.

"You guys no!" Sailor X cried, pulling on Comet's skirt. "Don't you see? She wants us to fight individually, so she can beat us. We need to work together!"

"She's right, girls. Please listen!" North Star said.

"Hell no! This bitch is mine!" Nova raised her hands. "Nova...EXPLOSION!"

"Fire Shower!"

Both attacks morphed together into one swirl of blue and red. It hit Magnus straight on, catching her cloak on fire. She simply let it burn all the way up her body, looking demonic with the flames framing her, until it was completely gone and she was only wearing a long black gown.

"A cute magic trick. Now it's my turn," she said. She thrust out her hands and an beam of energy looking strangely similar to what they had just sent at her, came back and hit the two girls.

They screamed as flames engulfed them. Both dropped to the floor and began to roll back and forth to try to put out the fire but it was to no avail. It only seemed to make the pyre grow stronger.

"Comet! Nova!" Their screams continued to pierce the ears and hearts of the rest of the team. "Please, just stop it! Stop!" Sailor X begged, tears streaming down her face.

"Had enough of watching them suffer? Fine, I shall release them. Not that it matters. They are already lost." Magnus waved a hand and the fire disappeared.

Sailor X, Sun, and North Star ran over to where their friends dropped to the floor. They were severely burned, their skirts and collars completely gone and char marks all over their leotards, gloves, and boots.

They bent down next to their injured teammates and Sailor X gently shook them. "Mia?...Bebe?" But there was no response. "No..." She started to sob once more over the corpses of the other girls.

"Sailor X," Sun said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We've got to get out of here. There's no way we can defeat her?"

"You think?" the other brunette turned and snapped at her friend. "And what would it matter anyway? If we don't stand and fight her now, we'll just get killed when she tries to take the Earth. I'd rather die trying than run away now!"

"Allow me to help you with that, Sailor X," Magnus hissed, suddenly right behind them. This time, she was wielding what looked like a syringe.

"No!" North Star jumped over and pushed the younger girls out of the way as Magnus's arm came crashing down. The needle was jammed into her shoulder and she gasped at the pain. The evil queen injected the fluid into her.

"Grandma!" Sailor X cried.

"Looks like I have found my first test subject." Magnus laughed. "I'm sure Amicitia has told you about my plans to create a vaccine for goodness. It is now time to see if it works."

"Grandma? Are you alright?"

"I...don't know. I feel...angry." North Star lifted her head and her eyes looked as blood red as Magnus's.

"Sailor North Star, you are now under my command," Magnus said. "And first, I want you to destroy these two."

"No! I will never...Never..." North Star seemed to have an inner struggle, squeezing her eyes shut and curling in on herself, before finally a blank look crossed over her face and she stood. "Yes, Madam. I obey only your command."

"Grandma no!"

"Ahahaha! Yes, it works!" Magnus shouted triumphantly.

Sailor Sun jumped in front of Sailor X crying, "Ozone Shield!" Her forcefield projected from the top of her staff and surrounded the two of them.

"Your silly shield cannot protect you forever. With my vaccine, North Stars powers are enhanced. She will defeat you, and then I shall unleash this on the universe!"

"Starshine..." North Star started, aiming at her granddaughter. The golden energy of her beam started to form in her hand, growing larger by the second. However, before she finished her attack call, she whipped around to face Magnus. "BLAST!"

Magnus screamed as the energy engulfed her. Sun dropped her shield immediately, shouting out, "Hell yes! Granny, I knew you'd never go bad!"

The evil queen fell to the floor. "How...How is that possible? My vaccine should have wiped out all good in you!"

"There is no way to eliminate goodness, Magnus!" North Star said. "You may have made me a little mad, but I'd never obey you, especially not to kill my granddaughter."

"How touching," she scoffed. Weakly, she got to her feet. "But this only makes it obvious that I need to do more research." She waved an arm and North Star was thrown into a pile of torture devices.

"NO!"

"Yes!" Magnus waved her other arm and the evil weapons engulfed North Star. She let out a blood-curdling scream before a gurgling choking sound, and then silence.

"No...no no no!" Sailor X cried, her tears soaking into Sun's collar as she grabbed her. "Why...Why is everyone being taken away?"

"Now can we leave?"

"No. I'm not going to let her get away with this. It's time to end this once and for all." Sailor X stood up and faced Magnus.

"No, Kate, don't!" Sun grabbed her and yanked her back down. "This...This is my job. I'm supposed to fight before you do. You're the princess after all."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's part of our duty as Sailor soldiers. I remember something about this from when we were first training. Our number one priority is to protect the princess no matter what. And I guess we all sort of knew it instinctively."

"Then I don't want to be a damn princess! Not if I have to lose my best friend!"

"Too late for that. Just let me take her on before you do. If I can weaken her enough then you can probably finish her off, and at least you can escape. And Marti's probably still alive over there so you can grab her too!"

"No, Lisa!" But there was nothing that she could say that would change Sun's mind now. She watched her staff wielding friend stand and face Magnus.

"I've been saving this one for a special occasion, Magnus. Get ready to get your ass kicked!" Sailor Sun pointed her staff and closed her eyes. "I call upon my guardian deity, the Great Sun, to give me his strength to defeat this great evil!"

A golden aura surrounded Sailor Sun and Sailor X was astounded that even here in the depths of an evil dungeon, the sun could still reach her. When she felt she was charged enough, she cried out, "Supreme Helio Shining!"

A blast of orange-yellow light hit Magnus and seemed to melt her. Her face was dripping and she started to sink to the floor. Sailor X watched hopefully. Perhaps she would be able to finish her off without having to lose Sun, if she were weak enough.

When all of Sun's energies were spent, it looked as if Magnus had completely disintegrated. Sun dropped to her knees and her transformation faded. Sailor X ran over to her.

"Are you ok, Lisa?"

"Y-yeah...I think I did it!"

"I don't think we should celebrate just yet. Let's just grab Marti and get out of here!" Sailor X pulled her friend to her feet and they ran over to where Marti was still laying unconscious. They scooped her up and put her arms around their shoulders, then headed for the door.

Softly they heard a sound like a footstep. Lisa and Sailor X turned around but saw nothing there. They continued making their way for the exit and heard another footstep.

They began to sprint, as fast as they could manage while carrying another person. The footsteps didn't get faster but they did get louder. Suddenly the three were knocked over as if a giant hand had swept past them.

"Did you think you would get away that easily, you little fools?" Magnus screeched, her voice sounding as if it were amplified a hundred times over. "We've only just begun!"

Sailor X and Lisa flipped onto their backs and saw Magnus, who looked larger than before. Her skin looked like wax that had been half melted then cooled. Her expression was more psychotic that before, her evil smile revealing shark-like teeth. She drew back her hands and her nails grew to the length and sharpness of a sword. With a swing of her arms, she raked her claws across Lisa's body, leaving bloody gashes through tears in her clothes.

"LISA!"

Lisa hissed in pain and grabbed at her stomach. "K-Kate...Remember what Marti said about...energy."

Magnus picked up Lisa in one hand as if she were a doll, and with her other hand, she ran her nails straight through. Lisa's form went limp and she threw her across the room with an evil cackle.

Not knowing what to do, and with a sick feeling in her stomach, Sailor X dived for the pile of torture devices to try to come up with a plan. The sight of all her friends' dead bodies finally got to her and once she felt she was well concealed, she promptly vomited.

She shook with fear as she wiped her mouth off. "What should I do?" she whispered to herself.

"You cannot hide forever, Sailor X. I will find you and defeat you. There's no reason to prolong the inevitable."

Sailor X thought of Lisa's last words to her. What had Marti said about energy? Only that it could still be extracted after death. Did that mean perhaps she could still take some energy from them and use the Celestial Attack? She almost felt it was disrespectful, but she had to try it.

"I call upon my guardian deity Xena. Please help me to get what power I can from my friends. Help me to defeat this ultimate evil!" Sailor X concentrated and waited to see if anything would come to her. Just when she thought that nothing was going to happen, a trail of golden energy flowed close to her and entered her heart. She felt her grandmother's last bit of power fill her up.

Next came an orange tendril that she felt was from Lisa. A blue one from Bebe and a red one from Mia followed. And finally, a silver wisp from Sheldon flowed inside, completing her.

Magnus could see the colorful trails and she was led right to Sailor X's location. "Silly girl. Why would you purposely draw attention to yourself. I almost left you alone."

Sailor X felt completely calm, as if all her friends were standing right behind her and cheering her on. She stood and came out from behind the torture devices with a new face of determination.

"Oh if looks could kill. But even then, I'm immortal! Nothing can defeat me!" Magnus cried.

Sailor X took the gold pen from its place in her skirt pocket and called out, "X Star Power, Make up!" She turned, once again, into the shimmering Sailor Star. Her pen and wand grew into the staff it had been before and she held it tight. "Shining stars of the great Milky Way," Sailor Star called out at the top of her lungs, "give me the strength to defeat this foe through your gorgeous light. SILVER STARLIGHT MAGIC!"

The blinding silver light enfolded the entire room and Magnus screamed again. Sailor Star pushed everything she had through her staff, everything that her friends had given her, and started screaming herself from the effort.

"N-no! Impossible!" Mangus cried. She slowly melted down to nothing but a black puddle. Sailor Star's light faded and she collapsed, changing back into Kate.

She was dizzy and weak and desperately wanted to collapse on that spot, but she knew that she had to get out of there before in case Magnus wasn't truly finished. She went to get Marti but when she found her, she too had been cut and was bleeding. She didn't bother checking for a pulse, assuming she was dead too.

She wobbled to the door, just trying to get free. Behind her, she heard a soft laughing. It bounced off the walls of the room in a creepy echo. Kate knew that it wasn't a good sign and turned back to the puddle. It had started to ripple and a small peak formed in the center. Little by little, it began to take shape. Magnus's body reformed from the puddle and she only looked stronger.

"No...It can't be. No!" Kate fell to her knees just by the sight of the smirking evil queen. Tears filled her eyes again and she put her head to the ground.

"Did you really believe that silly little trick would defeat me? Oh you may have come close, but just not close enough." Magnus stepped forward and waved an arm. The bodies of all her friends were laid out in front of Kate.

"First I wanted to show you your little team one last time, just so you know what to expect for yourself. And I want to tell you something before I finish you off.

"You see, I was not always the person that you see before you today. I used to be what you would call 'a good person'. But there was a day where something happened that changed my life forever, and made me realize that I would never get anything from sitting back like all the other girls and letting people decide my future for me.

"Thus I left my family and began to hone my powers until I was strong enough to gather an army and attack Xena. I had no intentions of destroying it, that was an accident. I merely wanted to rule. Had it not been for you, I might have been content with just having that little planet. It was when I realized what a small token it was in the vast universe that I decided to spread my reign.

"It was also around that time that I began to develop my vaccine. What happened to me the day I changed wiped out all the goodness in me. Why couldn't I do the same to everyone else? Not that I could do it the same way, but my way would be better.

"Unfortunately, as I tried to conduct my research I was periodically stopped by you and your little bratty friends and grandmother. But now I won't have to worry about that anymore. Say goodbye, Sailor X."

Magnus raised a hand and an orange ball of energy appeared in the palm. She thrust it towards Kate who made no move to stop it. She knew she had failed herself, her friends, and the entire universe, and she deserved to die. When it made contact she screamed and desperately wished that it would be over quickly or that she could be someplace safe.

A purple light engulfed Kate and Magnus actually stopped her attack as she watched it completely cover her. When she was completely surrounded by purple, there was a pop, and she disappeared.


	18. Chapter 17

OMG This is it! The last chapter! Ok, the first version of this made almost no sense whatsoever! But since I changed the year when this takes place, everything now fits perfectly, better than I could have even planned. This one's a lot longer than the last few chapters but a lot of stuff is going on. And don't worry, everything works out in the end. This isn't the last you've seen of our heroes! As usual, please read and review and enjoy! Love ya~!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Chapter 17: The Key to the Future Lies in the Past**

Kate blinked open her eyes, trying to figure out where she was and how she had gotten there. She was laying flat on a gray cloud with nothing around her but fog. Standing up weakly, she called out, "Is anyone there?" She listened to her voice's echo fade away. "What is this place..."

From the corner of her eye, something became more clear from the fogginess. It appeared to be a large gateway and there was someone standing in front of it. From what she could make out, it was a girl holding some kind of staff. She was instantly reminded of Lisa, and everything came rushing back to her.

"Everyone's gone...But how did I escape?" Kate made her way over to the mysterious figure, thinking that the worst that could happen was that she would be killed and would join her friends in Heaven.

"Who goes there?" the girl called into the darkness. Her voice had an accent, and it sounded almost like that of the voice who had given her the golden pen.

"Uh...I am Kate Astrum, of Earth. Could you tell me where I am?" Kate came within a yard of the woman who was still shrouded in mist. At this closer view she thought that she was wearing a Sailor uniform.

"Kate Astrum...Ah! You are the leader of the senshi of America!"

"Um, senshi?"

"My apologies. The Japanese word for soldier." She stepped forward more, yet she kept herself hidden. "Welcome to the Gates of Time."

"The Gates of Time?"

"Yes. These Gates behind me allow people to travel to the past and future. Well, if I see that their reasons are worthy. I am the guardian of this gate." She bowed into the fog.

"Wow...I didn't think time travel was possible," Kate mused. "But I guess if I'm actually an alien who has superpowers, anything can happen."

"Yes, it is true. I have been watching you, Kate-san. I know of you and your friends' endeavors."

"That's just a little bit creepy. No offense. Why exactly were you watching us?"

"I can understand why you might feel that way. But I like to keep tabs on all of the Sailor soldiers on Earth. Something to occupy my endless time as the guardian of the Time Gates. However, I seemed to have missed the events that led you to this place, without you having prior knowledge of its existence. How did this happen?"

Kate bowed her head as she remembered the details of the battle she had miraculously escaped. She retold the events to the time guardian who stood silently. It was somewhat unnerving to Kate that she couldn't see her expression.

"But in all honesty, I have no idea how I got here. I only remember wishing for it to be over, or to be someplace safe. I didn't think I would actually be able to teleport under those conditions."

"Well, Sailor Crystals have been known to grant wishes before. Perhaps yours activated in your extreme agony to save you."

"I guess that would make sense..." Kate said. "But what am I supposed to do now? My friends are...dead. And Magnus has probably taken over the entire Earth already!"

The time guardian said nothing for a moment, and then waved her staff. Kate flinched, not knowing what she would do, but then the Gates of Time swung open. "Step towards the Gates," the woman commanded.

Kate stepped forward and looked through the Gates. There were two images swirling inside. One looked like a restored version of the palace on Xena, and the other looked like Kate's apartment.

"You see before you two possible timelines that can be created if one pivotal event in your past is altered. The first would be if Magnus were to be prevented from destroying your home planet. You are very much capable of doing that with your strength now as you almost defeated her as a twelve-year-old. However, if you do choose to defeat her and stay on your home planet, you will never meet any of the people you did on Earth, including your grandmother Jane Astrum.

"If you would rather stay on Earth, you can always defeat Magnus after she destroys Xena. However, you and your friends will never become Sailor soldiers. You will most likely never meet Mia or Astra. You will not find out that your grandmother is Sailor North Star, and Amicitia will never become Marti.

"Also, when history rewrites itself, you will lose all your memories, even of coming to this place. It is necessary for the balance of the space-time continuum."

Thinking over her two choices, Kate's heart filled with regret. Was there no other way to change this horrible fate? "No...Isn't there a way that will allow the current timeline to stay intact?"

"I am afraid not. Even if you trained in another time and then came back to defeat Magnus, I would need to send you back immediately after you left. Which means that your friends would still not survive."

She hadn't thought it was possible, but there were more tears forming in Kate's eyes. "It is a sacrifice I have to make. At least this way I'll be able to have my memories of them. And I don't want to just run away. I have to finish this."

Kate heard the guardian sigh. "Very well. But in order to defeat Magnus, you must be able to find out what causes her to be so evil. She seems to be invincible for whatever reason, but if you were able to eliminate that which caused her to become the way she is, you might be able to cure her completely."

"She did mention that there was a turning point in her life where she decided that she wanted power," Kate said.

"We will just have to search for that point." The guardian waved her staff again and the image in the Gates changed. A teenaged girl in a long purple gown was shown standing in a hallway. The white hair and pale skin made Kate realize that it was a young Magnus.

"We can skip through some of this and see what we can find. I started in what appears to be Magnus's last year before she became evil: 1994." The guardian made the image move as if a video was being fast forwarded. As the images raced by, Kate saw a two familiar figures...

"Wait! Stop it!" The picture stopped moving to reveal that Kate's hunch was correct. "Those people...My parents on Xena!" Sure enough, the King and Queen were standing and smiling with Magnus in what Kate now recognized to be the halls of the palace.

"Could that mean..." With another wave of the staff, an image of Kate's birth mother holding a baby was shown. The guardian played the scene at normal speed.

"Oh darling, she's beautiful!" the King exclaimed, looking at the newborn.

"Yes. I never thought that we would be so blessed," the Queen agreed, never taking her eyes off the precious bundle in her arms.

"What shall we name her?"

"It should be something wonderful for such a wonderful girl. What about...Andromeda?"

"It's perfect. Princess Andromeda, and future protector of out planet, Sailor X."

The scene faded and Kate's mouth gaped in shock. "Magnus is my sister? No wait. Magnus was supposed to be Sailor X?"

"Apparently so. But that doesn't make any sense at all. The only way that a Sailor soldier could go inexplicably evil is if...Oh my." The guardian brought back the year 1994 and sped through it again. It seemed that nothing out of the ordinary was happening, until one point when it looked as if the planet were under attack.

"Oh no...could it be?"

"What? What's wrong?" Kate asked.

"Galaxia..."

"Who?"

The guardian played the image at normal speed and Kate watched intently to understand what was going on, or rather what _had_ gone on.

Magnus, or Andromeda, was sprinting down a palace hall. She bumped into her parents and when they saw each other, they went into a group hug.

"Mother, I'm scared," she said.

"I know darling, but you have to be brave! You can do this," the Queen reassured her. Kate noticed that she was pregnant and thought that it must have been with her.

"Yes, you have extraordinary power! It's your job to protect the kingdom," her father agreed.

"I know. I will do it with honor. I love you, Mother and Father."

"We love you too," her mother said. "Now go! She is here."

"Right. X Power, Make up!" And with that, Andromeda became Sailor X. However, her uniform looked very different than Kate's.

The theme was still purple but other than that, nothing seemed to be the same. The uniform was in two pieces: a T-shirt with a sailor collar and a vintage looking bow, and a flowing skirt that went to her knees. Her gloves only came to the wrist and were completely white. In place of a choker was a gold chain with an X charm and her earrings were two pearls with an X beneath them. Her tiara was not on her forehead, but rather on top of her head and looked more like a crown.

"Wow. Am I glad that I don't have that outfit," Kate commented. "She also said 'X Power' instead of 'X Crystal Power'. Does that mean something?"

"Perhaps. The only other time I have seen a Sailor uniform as different as hers was on Sailor V. She probably wasn't supposed to be Sailor X. The fact that she can transform at all means that she's supposed to be someone, but the strange uniform and the fact that she couldn't call on the X Crystal probably means that they gave her the wrong Sailor identity."

"Well, that's a relief. For a second I thought that I was the wrong Sailor X." Kate then looked back to the image and continued to watch.

The fake Sailor X ran out of the palace and Kate had de ja vu as she witnessed the destruction that this other evil had wrought on her planet. It looked almost the same as when Magnus had attacked.

In a scenario that mirrored her own, the evil leader was floating high above and cackling wildly. She wore golden armor styled almost like a Sailor uniform and a strange golden headpiece that reminded Kate of a lampshade. Her amber eyes glinted evilly and disks of yellow energy continued to blast out from the bracelets on her wrist.

"I was right...I should have known that she wouldn't have left any planets in peace," the guardian said.

"That's the Galaxy person?" The image froze as the shadowy woman came even closer to her through the fog to explain. Kate could almost see the color of her uniform. It seemed to be black, or a very dark gray at the least.

"Galaxia. Sailor Galaxia to be exact. Long ago she sealed Chaos itself inside of her to try and prevent it from attacking anyone anymore. But unfortunately, it corrupted her from the inside out and she tried to take over the universe but collecting Star Seeds. "She stole Star Seeds from every planet in the galaxy, but the only ones that were worth anything were the ones of Sailor senshi. Anyone else would turn into a Phage and have to be killed because they would terrorize the rest of the world.

"Some of the Sailor soldiers she stole from decided to join her so that they could still live. She would give them bracelets that would allow them to survive without their Star Seeds and they would turn evil. If they didn't join her, their bodies simply faded away.

"She came to Earth eventually, seeing as we have the largest population of Sailor soldiers in one place there."

"You mean there are other Sailor soldiers besides us on Earth?" Kate asked.

"Precisely. There is another group, the Solar System senshi, who have a somewhat similar story to your own. They lived on the moon which was destroyed by a different form of Chaos. But they did not survive so the queen encased them in the Silver Crystal and sent them to Earth to be reborn a thousand years later.

"Sailor Moon, that team's leader, was able to defeat Galaxia in the end, restoring all the planets that had been attacked."

"Wow...Well that still doesn't completely explain why Magnus is evil though."

"I suddenly have a feeling that I know the reason." The guardian started the image again. 'Sailor X' was looking up at Galaxia with both fear and determination in her eyes.

"Galaxia! I command you to leave my planet and stop terrorizing my people!" she cried.

"Oh, sure. I'd love to. Are you stupid? Why would your silly words stop me?" She laughed again.

"Fine. Then I guess I will have to fight you! X Hidden Beam!" The attack didn't look as strong as Kate usually remembered and Galaxia easily dodged it. She then retaliated with her own attack which just barely missed Sailor X.

"Silly little girl. Why not make it easier for yourself and just surrender your Star Seed? I will spare your puny planet if you do."

"How can I believe you?"

"You can't! But I will."

Sailor X seemed to consider it but then shook her head. "I would never give up that easily."

"Well then, I guess that means you choose death the hard way." Galaxia fired four consecutive blasts, each one coming closer than the last, until she finally hit Sailor X.

The girl screamed in agony as a flower bud appeared on top of her head. It opened to reveal a little gold diamond prism that twinkled gently. Sailor X changed back to Andromeda and fell to the ground.

Galaxia cackled once again. "You see, I always get what I want. I am the ultimate warrior and no one can defeat me. And by the looks of your Sailor Crystal, you aren't even Sailor X. No wonder your powers are so weak." She snatched the Star Seed from the flower and Andromeda started to fade.

"Wait...Galaxia..." she spoke weakly. "If...I join you...will you spare my planet?"

Galaxia actually seemed to think about this. "A tempting offer, as I am always in need of more servants." She pointed at Andromeda's leg and one of her bracelets magically appeared there, making her opaque once again. "But there are too many potential Star Seeds on this planet! You will join me in the search for them all!"

At first Andromeda looked horrified at the idea. But after a moment her eyes changed from purple like Kate's to the blood red she recognized. "With pleasure, Madam Galaxia."

Kate and the guardian watched as Galaxia and Andromeda attacked the rest of the planet. Some of the Star Seeds did not stay shiny like Andromeda's but became black after a few moments. Those whose Seeds did this were transformed into strange creatures which Kate assumed to be Phages. They would then wreak havoc on the rest of the town. All pure Star Seed holders were left to die after their Seeds were collected.

"Excellent work! You will make a fine addition to my army! Come, we must move to the next planet. There is much work to be done." Galaxia then turned into a golden streak of light and flew off into space.

Andromeda was about to follow when she looked around at the destruction she had caused. Her eyes softened to a more of a violet as she surveyed the damage and realized just what she had done.  
"No...Is this really my fault?" She looked at her hands, disgusted. "I must leave. I must get far away before I kill anyone else! And I must hide from Galaxia!"

Andromeda became a beam of light and shot off in the opposite direction of Galaxia. The image in the Gates then faded.

"So, she managed to run away. Having only one bracelet must have only affected part of her heart. At least for a while. It would seem that the evil half of her took over completely at some point in time."

"Where did she go?" Kate asked.

"Let us find out."

They turned their attention back to the Gates and saw Andromeda on a desolate planet. There were no signs that there had ever been life there nor would there ever be. She sat curled in upon herself and was motionless.

"I guess being in this solitary environment made her finally snap," the guardian said.

"Then when she decided that she wanted to take over the universe and make everyone as evil as she was, she decided to train and attack Xena."

"But that leaves just one question. Where did her Star Seed go when Galaxia was defeated? It should have been returned to her once it was free."

"Perhaps I can answer that," a new voice said. Kate and the guardian looked all around themselves but there was no body to go with it.

"Who goes there?" the guardian demanded.

"Oh come on, Pluto, you remember me!" Kate felt that the voice was familiar too.

"Oh! You're the voice that gave me this!" She pulled the gold pen out of her pocket.

"Yes! Sailor X, good to see you," it said. "I apologize. Allow me to reveal myself." Suddenly there was a shimmering in front of her eyes. The fuzzy outline of a man appeared and slowly became clearer. He was quite handsome, with midnight blue eyes and long black hair tied into a ponytail at the neck. He smiled brightly and Kate couldn't help but blush a little.

"You!" the guardian, who Kate now knew as Pluto, cried at the sight of him.

"Yes, it's me. But we can catch up later. Sailor X, that pen is actually a Star Seed. Look." The man took the pen and closed his eyes and revealed that he was right. "I disguised it as a pen to give to you because it would be safer that way."

"But why did you give it to me? No, why didn't you just go give it to Magnus herself?" Kate asked, a bit frustrated that the answer to all her problems had been just sitting in her pocket and no one told her.

"Because," he said. "I didn't know it was hers until just now! You see, when Galaxia turned good again, she personally guided each Star Seed in the universe back to their home. But obviously, Andromeda wasn't on her home planet, so she couldn't give it back to her. She brought it to my planet and gave it to my princess. She then told me that I should give it to you. I guess she could sense that you were related to Andromeda and figured that you could return it to her. My princess is very good at that sort of thing."

"Alright...Well that explains that. Now what am I supposed to do with this?" Kate gently took the Star Seed into her hands and felt the warm power emanating from it.

"You have to give it back to her. Once she has it back she will return to her original self," Pluto said.

Kate looked from Pluto who was still slightly hidden to the strange man and nodded. "Ok. I guess it's time to go back to the present."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

Kate was transported back to the lair of Magnus just one second after she had disappeared. Magnus looked from the floor to her hands in shock.

"Where did she go?"

"I'm over here Magnus. Or should I say, Andromeda!" Kate called out.

"How...Who told you of that name?" For a moment, Magnus's eyes flashed fear.

"I just did a little research of my own, and I discovered why you are evil. And now I want to save you!" Kate opened her hands and the Star Seed floated out in front of them. Suddenly a translucent version of Magnus surrounded it.

"Andromeda. You know who you truly are inside. Become one with me again and stop this reign of terror," the holograph said.

"Never! I am not this Andromeda person! She was a weak and worthless fool who couldn't even protect her planet. She does not exist anymore."

"But she does! She's still inside of you somewhere, waiting to come out and be good again. You never really wanted all of this! You let Galaxia's bracelet corrupt you as Chaos had corrupted her. You must let yourself be healed just as she had."

"No...I refuse to believe it! I am Magnus and I am the most powerful being in the universe!"

"Magnus please!" Kate begged. "Did you know that you are my sister? Your mother was pregnant with me when Galaxia attacked!"

"That means nothing to me! I never knew you as a sister. What do I care? And you...You truly are Sailor X! You stole what should have been my soldier name and powers!"

"No, Magnus, you were meant to be someone else!" Kate said.

"Yes! My destiny was to become who I am now, and to rule the galaxies!"

"Andromeda-" the Star Seed started.

"ENOUGH! I refuse to have my mind played with! You die now, Sailor X, and then I shall destroy this Star Seed!"

"N-no!" a new voice cried. Everyone turned to see Marti standing shakily and making her way over.

"Marti!" Kate was overjoyed to see that one of her friends had survived. She dashed over to help her stand.

"Magnus...If you were truly meant to be evil, then you would have killed me long ago.

"You had multiple opportunities, especially now when you were killing everyone else. But something deep inside of you prevented you from killing me. I was different from the others. You liked me, even if it was just a little bit. And if you were truly evil then that would never have happened. And you would have killed me the moment you saw me because I betrayed you."

"Lies..." Magnus protested, though more weakly than before.

"Please, Magnus. Take back your Star Seed."

The Star Seed Andromeda walked forward and Magnus shook her head. "No! No! This isn't supposed to happen!" She backed into the wall but did nothing more to try and stop it.

"You will be happier this way, Andromeda," the Star Seed said, as it melted into Magnus and they became one.

There was a gold light shining from Magnus's ankle and she screamed as it engulfed her whole body. There was a sound of metal clanking on the floor and Kate knew that the bracelet had come off. Out of Magnus's open mouth, a dark shadow flew out and dissipated.

The formerly evil queen then fell to the floor, breathing heavily. Kate brought Marti over and they bent down next to her.

"A...Andromeda?" Kate asked.

"Ngh...Yes. I'm back." She lifted her head and looked into Kate's eyes with her own matching purple ones. Kate and Marti smiled and they hugged her.

"I can't believe everything that happened. I'll never forgive myself. All those people I killed." She gasped and looked over to the five bodies laying side by side in front of the throne. "Oh no..."

She got up and went to kneel in front of the bodies. Sheldon's and Lisa's were caked with blood from their stab wounds, Bebe's and Mia's were burned and disfigured, and Jane's was so mutilated that she was unrecognizable.

"Sailor X...I'm so sorry! I can't believe how awful I have been! I don't deserve to live!" Andromeda began to sob over the corpses, burying her face in her hands.

"You didn't know what you were doing. But there's still hope! You can live on in their memories being the best person that you can be!" But Kate knew in her heart that that would never make up for the lives that she held so dearly.

"No," Andromeda said, lifting her head slowly. "I must make this right." She closed her eyes and a golden light surrounded her.

"What are you doing?" Kate cried as a strange wind started to billow around her and Marti.

"Giving them what I do not deserve!" Her Star Seed floated back out of her again, and split into five pieces. Each of the pieces made their way into one of the bodies and a golden glow washed over them as all their wounds were healed completely and they began to breath again.

"Andromeda!" Kate watched as her sister slowly faded out.

"I should have died long ago to save people. Instead I tried to destroy our planet twice. At least I can finally say that I did something good. Now five people who died before their time can have a second chance."

"No! Andromeda..." Kate held her disappearing body and cried. As she faded into nothingness, the five who were laying on the floor opened their eyes and fully came back to the world of the living.

"Wha...what happened?" Sheldon asked.

"Where's Magnus? Did we win?" Jane looked all around for the villain and found nothing.

Kate dried her eyes and smiled. She looked up and whispered, "Thank you." Then she turned to her friends and threw her arms around Lisa.

"Whoa! Kate what is going on?"

"Just hug me back!" Lisa felt moisture on her back and she returned the embrace. Everyone else soon joined in and Kate cried tears of joy knowing that her friends, her family, was alive once again.

_**(.:SX:.)**_

The group left the desolate chamber where the battle had been fought and returned to New York to Kate's apartment. There, she explained to everyone, including Astra, what had transpired after they had each died.

After listening to the entire story, Astra bowed her head. "I was not chosen as a guardian cat for the royal family until your birth. But I cannot believe that one of the princesses became our greatest foe!"

"And I can't believe that she gave up her own life to give us ours back," Bebe said, something actually touching her for once.

"She was truly good in the end. But we never did find out which Sailor soldier she was supposed to be," Kate said. "It would have been nice for her to know before she died."

"I believe I know," Astra said. "She must have been Sailor Star. You transformed into Sailor Star using her Star Seed. Therefore it is only logical that she herself was meant to be Sailor Star."

"But why would they try to make her Sailor X?" Mia asked.

"Humans cannot tell. As I said, I was not a guardian cat until Kate was born, so the King and Queen had no way of knowing about Andromeda. Guardian cats have the special ability to see what Sailor soldier a person will become. But I suppose they assumed that since she was the princess that she would become automatically become Sailor X."

"That makes sense," Sheldon said.

"Well, I can only hope that she's watching us now, and heard what we just said," Kate said, looking up.

"I'm sure she is, sweetie," Jane said, putting an arm around her granddaughter. "I'm sure she is."

_**(.:SX:.)**_

In the next few weeks, everything had gone back to normal. Well, almost.

Bebe was still pestering Kate and Lisa. But nowadays there was a more joking tone in her voice. Kate thought that it would only be a matter of time before Bebe would start acting more like their friend.

Mia was starting to come out of her shell a bit more. Sheldon and Kate went back to the way they were before Kate told him about her feelings, which was just fine with her. She would always have a special place for him, and still hoped that one day something between them could work out.

Mia's mom was also found. She miraculously was rescued in the forest behind her and Mia's old house in Illinois. She claimed to have no idea how she arrived there but other than that she was completely fine. She moved into the apartment with Mia and Sheldon so that the three of them could stay in New York with their friends.

Kate's Grandpa Chester also made his reappearance. He arrived at the house in New Jersey wondering where his wife was and called Kate's apartment looking for her. Jane was so ecstatic that she teleported back by herself to be with him. To Kate's dismay, she moved out of the apartment but promised to visit a lot more often and perhaps one day get her own apartment in the same building so she could be close by just in case.

"Astra, you don't think that us defeating Magnus had anything to do with Grandpa and Mia's mom coming back do you?"  
"You never know, Kate. After all, Magnus had the ability to steal Star Seeds herself with that bracelet. Perhaps she took a few that we didn't know about and they were freed when she died."

"Maybe. Either way, I'm just glad that they're ok."

Kate turned back to her desk and looked at the blank pages of the new notebook she had bought. She was determined to never forget any of the strange and magnificent things she had experienced over the past few months. She took a pencil in her hand and began to write.

_My name is Katherine Heather Astrum, and I am 16 years old. So far, my sophomore year of high school has been nothing but excitement. And it all started one day when I decided to run and hide in a bathroom._

_ These are my adventures as Sailor X, the senshi of America._


	19. Epilogue

Well folks, this is it. The end of my revision of Sailor X's story. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed or at least read from the beginning to the end. I hope everything made sense and there were no plot holes or weird things and I hope that you enjoyed it as I always do. It was a pleasure to rewrite this for you and I've really grown much more in touch with my characters because of it. Thank you sooooooooo much and be sure to watch my profile for more stories, including maybe a sequel to this one. I'm still not sure whether I want to yet or not lol. Anyway, read, review, enjoy, and I'll see you soon! Love ya~!

~SXS

**Disclaimer:** See prologue

* * *

**Epilogue**

Pluto and Seiya stood watching through the Gates as the final battle ended and everyone was revived. They were relieved to say that the galaxy was once again safe, at least for the time being. When they had seen that Kate and her friends were back home, Pluto turned to Seiya, a question on her tongue.

"How did Kakyuu-hime know about Kate-san though? And that she would know what to do with the Star Seed?" she asked.

"Princess was actually quite close with the ruling family of Xena," Seiya explained. "She knew Kate-san well before the planet was destroyed. So it was easy for her to sense the similarities in the shines."

"I see. And how did you get it to her?"

"I sang of course. It was the only way that I could give it to her without having to travel all the way to Earth. Light speed from my planet to here is still a long trip. I left right after I gave it to her to come here just in case something like this happened and she needed to know what to do with the Star Seed."

"Oh? And that was the only reason?"

Seiya blushed crimson. "Y-Yes that was the only reason!" he said a little more defensively than he had wanted to. "It's been a long time, Pluto, I doubt that she even remembers me anymore anyway..."

Pluto's heart suddenly panged with sympathy. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. And you never know what is possible, Seiya-san. The future, and the past, are not set in stone."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I don't want to interfere with the future and I highly doubt I can change the past. Besides, she's happy so I'm happy. Sort of..." His eyes clouded with a mix of pain and love and he stared off into the distance.

The two were silent for a moment before Seiya cleared his throat. "Well, my work here is done! I guess I should be heading back. Can't leave Princess unguarded for too long."

"Right. Safe travels then, Seiya-kun. Tell the others that we send our regards," Pluto said.

"Sure. And...tell Odango I said hello, if you see her." He smiled sadly and she nodded sympathetically. Then he streaked off as a beam of red light, leaving Pluto alone once again in the peaceful silence of the fog.


End file.
